A letter of complaint. Thanks.

Question

Hi, this is a letter I feel like sending to my neighbour. It's a complaint about the noise.

What do you think I could improve grammatically? Anything wrong with it?

Thanks for your help.

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To whom it may concern:

This is a frustrated neighbour feeling obliged to be forthright about the noise pollution which comes from your house on innumerable occasions. The almost weekly trimming of hedges or the mowing of lawns, or whatever else may be going on there, drives me nuts to the point of insanity. Furthermore, it appears, whether it is by chance or not, that the workers make their excessive noise on beautiful days in which we wish to spend in peace and quiet; however, this cannot happen as the noise permeates through the house as I’m sure it does for other houses around the neighbourhood.

I do not ask you to neglect the attractiveness of your glorious garden, but I do wish that you perhaps reduce the occasions on which your workers look after your gardens. After all, I believe you spend little time appreciating the borders of your gardens, which the workers attend frequently.

If I see no change in the frequency that your workers pollute the air, I suppose there is little I can and will do. But if you feel like being considerate and a friendly neighbour, you may like to acknowledge that we would appreciate some quiet.

Yours sincerely

An upset neighbour.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi Eddie,
How do you want this evaluated? In terms of grammar? Naturalness of language? Appropriateness for its purpose? All of these?

A couple of quick observations.

Use the guy's name, he's your neighbour. Basically, just use 'to whom it may concern' for references.

Sign your name, not just 'an upset neighbour'. People don't like anonymous letters.

Best wishes, Clive

Eddie88 · Answer

Hi, o.k. thanks.

Um, I suppose it can be evaluated in terms of grammar. It was a first copy, so I have definitely not perfected it. Any evaluation will be appreciated, but I suppose I mainly want an evaluation in terms of grammar and naturalness of language.

Eddie88 · Answer

Hi, o.k. thanks.

Um, I suppose it can be evaluated in terms of grammar. It was a first copy, so I have definitely not perfected it. Any evaluation will be appreciated, but I suppose I mainly want an evaluation in terms of grammar and naturalness of language.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Clive · Answer

Hi,
OK. Let's look at grammar. I have very few edits.
To whom it may concern:
This is a frustrated neighbour, feeling obliged to be forthright about the noise pollution which comes from your house on innumerable occasions. The almost weekly trimming of hedges or the mowing of lawns, or whatever else may be going on there, drives me nuts to the point of insanity. Furthermore, it appears, whether it is by chance or not, that the workers make their excessive noise on beautiful days in which we wish to spend in peace and quiet; however, this cannot happen as the noise permeates ~~through~~ the house, as I’m sure it does ~~for~~ other houses around the neighbourhood.

I do not ask you to neglect the attractiveness of your glorious garden, but I do wish that you perhaps reduce the occasions on which your workers look after your gardens. After all, I believe you spend little time appreciating the borders of your gardens, which the workers attend frequently.

If I see no change in the frequency that your workers pollute the air, I suppose there is little I can and will do. But if you feel like being considerate and a friendly neighbour, you may like to acknowledge that we would appreciate some quiet.

Yours sincerely,

An upset neighbour.

Now let's consider naturalness. This is where my concerns lie.
Eddie, I'm not sure where to start in commenting. The whole thing seems to me to be excessively formal, in terms of both gramar and vocabulary, to the point of bordering on sarcastic. If I received a letter like this, I would find it quite odd, perhaps even comical.
( I've already pointed out the incongruity of 'To whom it may concern', just as one example. )

In terms of effectiveness, I'd prefer a simple and polite statement of the problem, with practical suggestions for what you'd like the neighbour to actually do.

Best wishes, Clive

Eddie88 · Answer

I'm not sure where the word 'in' came from in my writing; it must have been a typo.

Secondly, thanks for picking up on my redundancy: permeates through...

Thirdly, the comma you add in is interesting. This one I feel is a case of personal preference as there is no rule for its placement. However, I'd have to agree that it seems like there should be a pause here.

Finally, haha, yes it is definitely too formal. I am intentionally being sarcastic as they have sent letters of a pretentious nature, so I was hoping this letter would subtely unveil a sarcastic tone in response. And yes, I know two wrongs don't make it right. I probably will never send it, but it is there as a last resort.

Thanks.

Eddie88 · Answer

Oh and I didn't see your first comma.

In this case, it is not needed as the participle phrase immediately follows the noun it modifies. Well, the website I posted on a different question you answered said it is not necessary in this case. However, once again, I feel the rule doesn't mean the comma can't exist.

Thanks again.

Eddie88 · Answer

Hi, although I accidentally added the word 'in' to the sentence, I realised I still had a question on a similar matter.

When to use in which?

Here is a definition I received from a website:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
You can use “in which” as a precise way to introduce a relative clause after a noun that refers to a place or to a time.

For example instead of saying
In my laboratory there is a blue cabinet where old equipment is stored.
You can say
In my laboratory there is a blue cabinet in which old equipment is stored.

________________________________________________________________________________

Now, it says 'after a noun that refers to a place'

How is 'cabinet' a place? Do you have to take the rest of the sentence into consideration, and I suppose it therefore is a place 'in the laboratory.'

So basically, when specifically can one use 'in which'?

Is it only with relative clauses?

And is it only when it makes sense even if the preposition were at the end of the sentence and which was at the beggining of the clause?

For example, Write a paragraph in which you reflect on what you have learned from the process of finding your Co-op Placement.

I don't know if 'in which' means 'where' or if it is the same as having a relative clause with 'which' at the beginning and the prep. at the end of the sentence. Because in this sentence, it doesn't look like 'in' can be at the end of the sentence.

Sorry to ramble, but I have pondered this for ever! Please help.

Clive · Answer

Hi,
When to use in which?

Here is a definition I received from a website:
__________
You can use “in which” as a precise way to introduce a relative clause after a noun that refers to a place or to a time.

For example instead of saying
In my laboratory there is a blue cabinet where old equipment is stored. OK
You can say
In my laboratory there is a blue cabinet in which old equipment is stored. OK

__

Now, it says 'after a noun that refers to a place'

How is 'cabinet' a place? Do you have to take the rest of the sentence into consideration, and I suppose it therefore is a place 'in the laboratory.' Yes. You could also just say 'I keep old equipment in a cabinet'. 'A cabinet is the place where / in which I keep my old equipment'.

So basically, when specifically can one use 'in which'?

Is it only with relative clauses? I can't think of another situation.

And is it only when it makes sense even if the preposition were at the end of the sentence and which was at the beggining of the clause? No, your following sentence is also fine.

For example, Write a paragraph in which / where you reflect on what you have learned from the process of finding your Co-op Placement.

I don't know if 'in which' means 'where' or if it is the same as having a relative clause with 'which' at the beginning and the prep. at the end of the sentence. Because in this sentence, it doesn't look like 'in' can be at the end of the sentence.No, it can't, but I'd say that's really for reasons of style and comprehension, because what follows 'in which' is quite long.

You could say 'Write a paragraph which you reflect on truth in.' It's just horribly inelegant English.

Best wishes, Clive

Avangi · Answer

Hi Eddie.  (This is just to help me find this thread, which your link would not produce.)

A letter of complaint. Thanks.

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