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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
Ambiguities in Using a Series of Prepositional Phrases
Hello.
My problem concerns how to use a series of prepositional phrases. (If I haven't worded my problem quite correctly, the following example should clarify what I mean.) In the following sentence, am I correctly using "alongside" and the comma that precedes it?
Streamers descended from the ceiling, alongside a column, and ended just above the stairs.
Does "alongside" refer to "ceiling," rather than "descended" (my intended meaning)? In other words, does my sentence state that the ceiling is alongside the column? Of course, a reader will likely assume that the ceiling, a horizontal structure, does not exist alongside the column, a vertical structure. But I'd like to be fastidious with my intended meaning (that the streamers, and not the ceiling, descended alongside the column).
So, do I need to replace the comma before "alongside" with "and?" Or do I keep the comma and add "and" after it? Or do I leave the sentence as it is? (Or is there another solution entirely?)
Also, does the use of "ended" break some sort of parallel-construction rule? Using "and ended just above" seems better to me than using "to just above" or, worse, "and to just above." (Both sound to me like prepositional traffic jams). But do I need that "to" (or that "and to") to complete a series of prepositions that start with "from" and "alongside?"
And, lastly, is the final comma, after "column," necessary, a matter of taste, or incorrect?
Thanks very, very much.
Dustin Smith
My problem concerns how to use a series of prepositional phrases. (If I haven't worded my problem quite correctly, the following example should clarify what I mean.) In the following sentence, am I correctly using "alongside" and the comma that precedes it?
Streamers descended from the ceiling, alongside a column, and ended just above the stairs.
Does "alongside" refer to "ceiling," rather than "descended" (my intended meaning)? In other words, does my sentence state that the ceiling is alongside the column? Of course, a reader will likely assume that the ceiling, a horizontal structure, does not exist alongside the column, a vertical structure. But I'd like to be fastidious with my intended meaning (that the streamers, and not the ceiling, descended alongside the column).
So, do I need to replace the comma before "alongside" with "and?" Or do I keep the comma and add "and" after it? Or do I leave the sentence as it is? (Or is there another solution entirely?)
Also, does the use of "ended" break some sort of parallel-construction rule? Using "and ended just above" seems better to me than using "to just above" or, worse, "and to just above." (Both sound to me like prepositional traffic jams). But do I need that "to" (or that "and to") to complete a series of prepositions that start with "from" and "alongside?"
And, lastly, is the final comma, after "column," necessary, a matter of taste, or incorrect?
Thanks very, very much.
Dustin Smith
Top answer
Hello, Dustin. S treamers descended from the ceiling, alongside a column, and ended just above the stairs . It seems to me that alongside refers to neither ceiling nor descended , but to column ; it is, however, an adverbial modifying descended .
- Hello, Dustin.
- S treamers descended from the ceiling, alongside a column, and ended just above the stairs .
- It seems to me that alongside refers to neither ceiling nor descended , but to column ; it is, however, an adverbial modifying descended .
- Since a language always presumes that its speakers have a basic understanding of the real world about them, there is no danger of any reader thinking that the ceiling is alongside the column.
- There is no grammatical necessity for the comma after ceiling , but it does help the reader follow along with the narrative.
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1 Answers
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Hello, Dustin.
Streamers descended from the ceiling, alongside a column, and ended just above the stairs.
It seems to me that alongside refers to neither ceiling nor descended, but to column; it is, however, an adverbial modifying descended. Since a language always presumes that its speakers have a basic understanding of the real world a
Streamers descended from the ceiling, alongside a column, and ended just above the stairs.
It seems to me that alongside refers to neither ceiling nor descended, but to column; it is, however, an adverbial modifying descended. Since a language always presumes that its speakers have a basic understanding of the real world a
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