"I am not in a position to know the answer to this." - ungrammatical?

Question

Hi all,We've been unreliably informed that the sentence "I am not in a position to know the answer to this." is grammatically incorrect. I think it's fine myself, perhaps a bit clumsy but no actual errors. Could anyone let me know if it's OK or not?Thanks,Sam.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi all, We've been unreliably informed that the sentence "I am not in a position to know the answer to ... fine myself, perhaps a bit clumsy but no actual errors. Could anyone let me know if it's OK or not?[/nq]
It's fine. What is the alleged problem?

Michael West
Melbourne, Australia
(Expat Yank)

Usenet · Answer

On 21 Aug 2003 09:29:14 -0500, "Michael West"
[nq:2]Hi all, We've been unreliably informed that the sentence "I ... Could anyone let me know if it's OK or not?[/nq]
[nq:1]It's fine. What is the alleged problem?[/nq]
Nothing is wrong with the grammar, but much with the style. Apart from anything else, it gives rise to an irresistable temptation to suggest that you should try standing on your head and see whether that makes it any easier.
Fowler and Gowers both have much to say on "position" (and "situation") used in this way. Fowler (MEU2) suggests that "writers given to overworking these words would be wise to try doing without them altogether; they would seldom find any great difficulty in it, and they would have a salutary exercise in clear thinking." And Gowers ("Plain Words") refers to "an unwillingness to venture outside a small vocabulary of shapeless bundles of uncertain content - words like position, situation, arise, involve, in connexion with, in term of, issue, condideration, and factor - a disposition, for instance, to 'admit with regret the position which has arisen in connexion with' rather than to make the effort to tell the reader specifically what is admitted with regret."

Don Aitken

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Hi all, We've been unreliably informed that the sentence "I ... Could anyone let me know if it's OK or not?[/nq]
[nq:1]It's fine. What is the alleged problem?[/nq]
Apparently it's incorrect to end this sentence with a pronoun, only a noun can be used. Is there some very formal rule regarding this? I've never heard of such a thing myself.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]It's fine. What is the alleged problem?[/nq]
[nq:1]Apparently it's incorrect to end this sentence with a pronoun, only a noun can be used.[/nq]
Sounds about as "incorrect" as ending a sentence with a preposition. (Who's been putting this nonsense into your head?)
[nq:1]Is there some very formal rule regarding this?[/nq]
I'll be interested to see if anyone can scrape one up for you...
[nq:1]I've never heard of such a thing myself.[/nq]
Ask whoever it is who told you this where on earth they heard it.

(Unless it's your boss, in which case just re-write the sentence. And then apply for a transfer away from him/her.)

Cheers, Harvey
Ottawa/Toronto/Edmonton for 30 years;
Southern England for the past 21 years.
(for e-mail, change harvey to whhvs)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Ask whoever it is who told you this where on earth they heard it. (Unless it's your boss, in which case just re-write the sentence. And then apply for a transfer away from him/her.)[/nq]
Well, funny you should say that...
He gave the impression that he got his info from "English Grammar & Usage", apparently published by "Cambridge". I've checked the Cambridge University Press website and the closest thing I could find was "English Grammar In Use".
Once I have enough counter-evidence I'll e-mail it to him.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]It's fine. What is the alleged problem?[/nq]
[nq:1]Nothing is wrong with the grammar, but much with the style. Apart from anything else, it gives rise to an ... arisen in connexion with' rather than to make the effort to tell the reader specifically what is admitted with regret."[/nq]
Sorry, Don: Fowler and Gowers are Evil Prescriptivists, and anything they say will not only be taken down and used in evidence, but is by definition based on a fantasy notion of what the language is about. Fortunately for our immortal souls, a Mighty Power arose in the West, where they know a thing or two about Election and Salvation, in about
1965 and started to tell us what the language was really about. I'mnot being Quirky, I hope.
Mike.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]It's fine. What is the alleged problem?[/nq]
[nq:1]Apparently it's incorrect to end this sentence with a pronoun, only a noun can be used. Is there some very formal rule regarding this? I've never heard of such a thing myself.[/nq]
Nonsense. It isn't incorrect. It might be
unclear, but that depends on the context.
Too many writers use the pronoun "this"
without specifying what "this" is, but it's
impossible to tell from your out-of-context
sample whether that is the case here.
The fix is usually to turn "this" into an
adjective by writing "this ".

Michael West
Melbourne, Australia

Usenet · Answer

(Email Removed) (Sam Poynter) burbled
[nq:1]Hi all, We've been unreliably informed that the sentence "I am not in a position to know the answer to ... fine myself, perhaps a bit clumsy but no actual errors. Could anyone let me know if it's OK or not?[/nq]
This is typical bureaucratese and politician-speak. The only way that this sentence can be considered okay is if it is in a context in which the speaker or writer is talking about the type of security clearance, job, or supervisory level he or she has. It's like saying "I'm out of the loop".
Even then, though, it is too vague. It should be something like "That information is unavailable to me because {my security clearance is too low / I'm not a senior executive / only people who work for the X department are given that information on a need-to-know basis, and I neither work for that department nor need to know that information}.
Perhaps the easiest way of anwering the question is "I don't know". When the next question is "Why not?" The next answer can be "It's not my {job / business} to know" or "No one ever told me about this".

It's not grammatically incorrect, however.

"I am not in a position to know the answer to this." - ungrammatical?

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