0
Navitasan Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
In a context of ...
Are these sentences correct:
1) He advocated revolution, in a context of extreme social injustice.
2) He advocated revolution in a context of extreme social injustice.
I think the comma changes the meaning.
In '1' the 'advocating' is done in 'a context of extreme social injustice' and in '2' the revolution should take place in such a context.
Is that correct?
Maybe the sentences (especially '2') are ambiguous?
Gratefully,
Navi.
1) He advocated revolution, in a context of extreme social injustice.
2) He advocated revolution in a context of extreme social injustice.
I think the comma changes the meaning.
In '1' the 'advocating' is done in 'a context of extreme social injustice' and in '2' the revolution should take place in such a context.
Is that correct?
Maybe the sentences (especially '2') are ambiguous?
Gratefully,
Navi.
Top answer
In 1) he's actually advocated revolution. It happens to have been in a time of extreme social injustice. , just incidental information, so we don't know whether he would have advocated revolution or not had it not been a time of injustice.
- In 1) he's actually advocated revolution.
- It happens to have been in a time of extreme social injustice.
- , just incidental information, so we don't know whether he would have advocated revolution or not had it not been a time of injustice.
- e, defining the times when revolution is proper, namely when there's extreme injustice.
- We don't know what the times are actually like, only what happens when times are unjust, so we don't know if he actually advocated revolution.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
In 1) he's actually advocated revolution. It happens to have been in a time of extreme social injustice. The use is non-restrictive, i.e., just incidental information, so we don't know whether he would have advocated revolution or not had it not been a time of injustice.
In 2) the phrase is restrictive, i.e, defining the times when revolution is proper, namely when there's extrem
In 2) the phrase is restrictive, i.e, defining the times when revolution is proper, namely when there's extrem
00
navitasanI think the comma changes the meaning.It does, but as a purely practical matter, I would not depend on the average reader to pick up on that fact. If you want to write something like this in an essay rather than as an example of a curiosity in English punctuation, you'd do better to rephrase the statement.
CJ
0
Related Questions