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Peaceblinkfriend Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

'..., however wide it might be.'

Hi all

Does this sentence sound natural?

'At least here you can exchange thoughts on this touchy topic with people from a cross section of society, however wide it might be.'

Thanks

PBF
  

Top answer

The syntax seems natural to me, but the phrase "however wide it might be" implies to me that you're not bothered about the cross-section being wide, or even that its being wide is a positive disadvantage, which doesn't fit with the rest of the sentence. If "wide" is supposed to refer to society then it might make more sense, but "wide cross-section" is such a well-known expression that I automatically associate the two.

— Mr Wordy

  • The syntax seems natural to me, but the phrase "however wide it might be" implies to me that you're not bothered about the cross-section being wide, or even that its being wide is a positive disadvantage, which doesn't fit with the rest of the sentence.
  • If "wide" is supposed to refer to society then it might make more sense, but "wide cross-section" is such a well-known expression that I automatically associate the two.
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6 Answers
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The syntax seems natural to me, but the phrase "however wide it might be" implies to me that you're not bothered about the cross-section being wide, or even that its being wide is a positive disadvantage, which doesn't fit with the rest of the sentence. If "wide" is supposed to refer to society then it might make more sense, but "wide cross-section" is such a well-known expression that I a
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Thanks for replying.

Would 'however narrow it might be' make more sense? I wasn't sure how I was supposed to say that the 'width' of the cross-section is greater than those of other platforms yet it may well short of being a complete cross-section of society.

Thank you again

PBF
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PeaceblinkfriendWould 'however narrow it might be' make more sense?

To me, yes, but it gives a muted or even negative message about the platform: "you can't really expect much of a cross-section, but, hey, it's better than nothing I suppose". Another possibility that seems slightly more positive is:

"At least here you can exchange thoughts on thi
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I see. Thank you for your suggestion, Mr Wordy. Just wondering. Is there I way I can fit in 'more' with the sentence to suggest a comparative advantage?

Thanks again.

PBF
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You could possibly say:

"At least here you can exchange thoughts on this touchy topic with people from a wider (albeit still restricted) cross-section of society."

or

"Here you can exchange thoughts on this touchy topic with people from a cross-section of society that may be restricted but is at least wider than that of other platforms."

In these sentences I th
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I see. Thanks a lot.

PBF
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