0
JJDouglas Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Avoiding ambiguity with predicates.
I feel as though the following sentence may be incorrectly punctuated/written, but I'm not sure of the best way to rectify it.
"The staging of the last scene was an interesting idea that I have personally never seen done before and felt that it brought a sense of catharsis to the whole production."
Would you say the meaning of this sentence is ambiguous? With the way the sentence is punctuated, would the predicate phrase "felt that it brought a sense of catharsis to the whole production" be read as belonging to the initial subject "the staging"? (I mean for it to apply to "I"). Would adding a comma before "and" make the connection between the subject "I" and its predicate clearer? Are there any rules about this, or is it just an instance where context and common sense are meant to guide the reader?
Compare the above example with this one, where I do mean for the last predicate phrase to apply back to the subject "the staging."
"The staging of the last scene was an interesting idea that I've personally never seen done before and brought a sense of catharsis to the whole production."
I feel as though only one of these examples can be right, but I don't know which one.
"The staging of the last scene was an interesting idea that I have personally never seen done before and felt that it brought a sense of catharsis to the whole production."
Would you say the meaning of this sentence is ambiguous? With the way the sentence is punctuated, would the predicate phrase "felt that it brought a sense of catharsis to the whole production" be read as belonging to the initial subject "the staging"? (I mean for it to apply to "I"). Would adding a comma before "and" make the connection between the subject "I" and its predicate clearer? Are there any rules about this, or is it just an instance where context and common sense are meant to guide the reader?
Compare the above example with this one, where I do mean for the last predicate phrase to apply back to the subject "the staging."
"The staging of the last scene was an interesting idea that I've personally never seen done before and brought a sense of catharsis to the whole production."
I feel as though only one of these examples can be right, but I don't know which one.
Top answer
I feel as though the following sentence may be incorrectly punctuated/written, but I'm not sure of the best way to rectify it. " Would you say the meaning of this sentence is ambiguous? With the way the sentence is punctuated, would the predicate phrase "felt that it brought a sense of catharsis to the whole production" be read as belonging to the initial subject "the staging"?
- I feel as though the following sentence may be incorrectly punctuated/written, but I'm not sure of the best way to rectify it.
- " Would you say the meaning of this sentence is ambiguous?
- With the way the sentence is punctuated, would the predicate phrase "felt that it brought a sense of catharsis to the whole production" be read as belonging to the initial subject "the staging"?
- Yes, it would be read that way, which does not make sense I mean for it to apply to "I").
- Would adding a comma before "and" make the connection between the subject "I" and its predicate clearer?
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
3 Answers
0
I feel as though the following sentence may be incorrectly punctuated/written, but I'm not sure of the best way to rectify it.
"The staging of the last scene was an interesting idea that I have personally never seen done before and felt that it brought a sense of catharsis to the whole production."
Would you say the meaning of this sentence is ambiguous? With the way the sentenc
"The staging of the last scene was an interesting idea that I have personally never seen done before and felt that it brought a sense of catharsis to the whole production."
Would you say the meaning of this sentence is ambiguous? With the way the sentenc
00
JJDouglas"The staging of the last scene was an interesting idea that I've personally never seen done before and brought a sense of catharsis to the whole production."I personally find this one unsatisfactory too. Possible suggestions:
"The staging of the last scene was an interesting idea which I've personally never seen done before, and which brough
00
Related Questions