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MarvinTheMartian Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

ability not to

0 Hello, would you please look at the following sentences:02br
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001. I admire her ability 01i00not to02i00 let unpleasant people affect her mood.02br
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002. I admire her ability 01i00to not02i00 let unpleasant people affect her mood. (sounds terrible to me, but I've seen constructions like this before)02br
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003. I admire her ability 01i00to keep02i00 unpleasant people 01i00from02i00 affecting her mood.02br
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004. I admire her ability 01i00to avoid02i00 letting unpleasant people affect her mood.02br
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00My instinct tells me that the first construction is the best. The third and fourth options sound tedious and unnatural in comparison. Still, I have my doubts. Is there anything inherently ungrammatical or unidiomatic about the construction "ability not to"? It sounds good to my ears, but it doesn't seem to make much sense considering that you don't normally hear people say: "I am able not to..."02br
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00Also, would the following alternative be acceptable?02br
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00"I like how she doesn't let unpleasant people affect her mood." 0-
  

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2 Answers
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0# 1 is the best, yes.02br
00# 2 is ungrammatical, because of that dreaded "split infinitive".02br
00# 3 sounds fine to me.02br
00#4 'avoid' doesn't work.02br
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00The additional sentence is fine, and very natural.0-
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0 Thanks. Can you also say "I 01i00admire02i00 how she doesn't let unpleasant people upset her"? And what if I substituted "admire" with "envy"? Would it still be acceptable, or would it be better to say something like "I envy the fact that she doesn't let unpleasant people upset her" 0-
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