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Perfect Stranger Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Grammar question - /both/ of /either/

Dear Users,

I think that the use of both the following sentence is incorrect, or at least it deforms the meaning. I'd replace it with either.

Iroquois Nation is the largest confederation of tribes in northeast, which would be a powerful addition to both Americans and British.

Plus, I feel there's a number of other issues with this sentence...

Thanks
  

Top answer

Issues: From the sense, "which" must have the Iroquois Nation as its antecedent, but the Iroquois are as far away as they can get from the pronoun. "Addition" is a strange word choice. " In the arithmetic of war, generally a third party cannot add to both sides of the equation at one time.

— Deadrat

  • Issues: From the sense, "which" must have the Iroquois Nation as its antecedent, but the Iroquois are as far away as they can get from the pronoun.
  • "Addition" is a strange word choice.
  • " In the arithmetic of war, generally a third party cannot add to both sides of the equation at one time.
  • "Either" is the better choice.
  • Decisions about alliances with the Iroquois Nation have been moot since 1783, so the tense of the verb in the relative clause is problematic.
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1 Answers
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Issues:
  1. From the sense, "which" must have the Iroquois Nation as its antecedent, but the Iroquois are as far away as they can get from the pronoun.
  2. "Addition" is a strange word choice. Likely it means, as extra military forces, we already have a perfectly good word for that -- "ally."
  3. In the arithmetic of war, generally a third party cannot add to both sides of the equation
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