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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Gerunds and passive voice
A sentence in the passive voice beginning with a gerund.
On her arriving to London, Lord Rancock is asked by Jane of Erstwhistle's whereabouts, being told by her that she has a letter to give to him.
him could be referring to Erstwhistle or Lord Rancock.
OR:
On her arrival to London, Jane asks Lord Rancock of Erstwhistle's whereabouts, telling him that she has a gift for him (Erstwhistle).
How could I write the sentence so that him refers to only Erstwhistle.
On her arriving to London, Lord Rancock is asked by Jane of Erstwhistle's whereabouts, being told by her that she has a letter to give to him.
him could be referring to Erstwhistle or Lord Rancock.
OR:
On her arrival to London, Jane asks Lord Rancock of Erstwhistle's whereabouts, telling him that she has a gift for him (Erstwhistle).
How could I write the sentence so that him refers to only Erstwhistle.
Top answer
On her arrival in London, Jane asks Lord Rancock, "Where is Erstwhistle? "
- On her arrival in London, Jane asks Lord Rancock, "Where is Erstwhistle?
- "
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14 Answers
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On her arrival in London, Jane asks Lord Rancock, "Where is Erstwhistle? I have a gift for him."
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I don't like the speech marks and I would like to keep the gerund at the beginning of my sentence.
Yes and 'in' not 'to' London.
A sign that I am not a native speaker right there
Yes and 'in' not 'to' London.
A sign that I am not a native speaker right there
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Neither sentence begins with a gerund.
#1 begins with a preposition, the object of which is a gerund.
#1 has no gerund at all.
The quotation makes the pronoun reference completely unambiguous. That was your stated objective.
#1 begins with a preposition, the object of which is a gerund.
#1 has no gerund at all.
The quotation makes the pronoun reference completely unambiguous. That was your stated objective.
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Having written my story without speech marks, my including them now is going to make them stand out horribly. Surely it is possible to write the sentence without using them at all?
On her arriving in London, Jane asks Lord Rancock of Erstwhistle's whereabouts ...
On her arriving in London, Jane asks Lord Rancock of Erstwhistle's whereabouts ...
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On her arriving in London, Jane asks Lord Rancock how she can find Erstwhistle so that she can present him with a gift.
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Thank you. But, 'how she can find Erstwhistle' implies that she has been looking for him, or is looking for him, and that he could be difficult to find.
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On her arriving in London, Jane asks Lord Rancock Erstwhistle's whereabouts so that she can present him with a gift.
This, I believe, is completely correct.
This, I believe, is completely correct.
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Anonymousimplies that she has been looking for him, or is looking for him, and that he could be difficult to find.It does not imply that to me. Asking someone's whereabouts is the same as asking where they are or how to find them.
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AnonymousThis, I believe, is completely correct.But is does have a problem.
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'how she can find' to me, sounds different to 'where she can find' because 'how' implies that she could be seeking a 'method' or 'plan' to help her find him. For example:
Where is your mother?
She is in the kitchen.
This is quite different to
How can I find my mother?
You can find your mother by going to A, then to B, then to C....
The 'Where'
Where is your mother?
She is in the kitchen.
This is quite different to
How can I find my mother?
You can find your mother by going to A, then to B, then to C....
The 'Where'
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