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Ladybird25 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Heading north

In the following passage, do the words “heading north” modify all three highways “the Garden State Parkway, the Merritt Parkway and the New York State Throughway”, or only the last one “the New York State Throughway”?
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Traffic moving north and east out of New York City—motorists are advised to remain off the highways until further notice. Traffic on the Garden State Parkway, the Merritt Parkway, and the New York State Throughway heading north is reported bumper to bumper, stretching out in some places to upwards of fifty miles.
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Thank you for your help in advance.
ladybird
  

Top answer

I can't tell. I never thought of the Merritt as north-south, but the stretch leaving the City is. The Garden State Parkway is west of the City and never touches it, so I don't see how traffic on it can be said to be moving in any direction out of it.

— Enoon

  • I can't tell.
  • I never thought of the Merritt as north-south, but the stretch leaving the City is.
  • The Garden State Parkway is west of the City and never touches it, so I don't see how traffic on it can be said to be moving in any direction out of it.
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6 Answers
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I can't tell. I never thought of the Merritt as north-south, but the stretch leaving the City is. The Garden State Parkway is west of the City and never touches it, so I don't see how traffic on it can be said to be moving in any direction out of it.
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I see… Thank you enoon for your reply.

Now I would like to know the general rule.
In the pattern “A, B and C + modifier”, does the modifier usually modify only C, or all of them (A, B and C)?

Thanks again,
ladybird
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I would say that the post modifier defaults to distribution.
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ladybird25Traffic on the Garden State Parkway, the Merritt Parkway, and the New York State Throughway heading north is reported bumper to bumper,
I believe the intention is to say this:

Traffic on the Garden State Parkway in both directions, the Merritt Parkway in both directions, and the New York State Throughway only in the north-bound direction, bu
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ladybird25Now I would like to know the general rule.
I don't think there is a general rule. In a sentence like your example, the writer is informing people who know quite a bit about the freeways in question. They would know in which directions these freeways go and would be quite adept at understanding the meaning. We who don't live in the area in question
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Thank you very much, enoon and Calif Jim, for your help.
Now I understand.

Thanks again.
ladybird
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