He sold the ring which he took from his mother for 5 dollars.

Question

Hello everyone.This example "He sold the ring which he took from his mother for 5 dollars." is from an English document.The document's author thinks that the sentence is grammatically correct. Everything is in the right place.However he suggests putting "for 5 dollars" before "the ring" like"He sold for 5 dollars the ring which he took from his mother."(There is no comma, I don't know why)Why do you think that he suggests this attention?In my opinion, It is almost always avoided in English to allow a relative clause to take place between a main verb(for example "sold") and its adverbial phrase(for example "for 5 dollars). It can be okay syntaxically but not preferred in English.What do you think?Thanks a lot.

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

Jawel"He sold the ring which he took from his mother for 5 dollars."

The sentence is fine. There is no room for misunderstanding even though for five dollars is at the end.

Jawel"He sold for 5 dollars the ring which he took from his mother."

This sentence is also correct. For five dollars has been placed right after sold so that the reader cannot possibly confuse the price with anything other than the verb sold. As English has no special case for nouns acting as grammatical objects, it is usually advisable to avoid separating a verb from its object. In many cases it is considered incorrect grammar.

In your example, however, the object is very long since the relative clause can also be considered to be a part of it. The longer the object, the more permissible it is to place something between the verb and its object.

No comma is used before the relative clause because it is defining/restrictive: that particular ring which he took from his mother, not just any ring.

CB

He sold the ring which he took from his mother for 5 dollars.

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