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Taka Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Manage
They may consider selling off the land to private companies to manage.
About the underlined "to manage", does it modify "private companies" (i.e "private companies that can manage")? Or is it grammatically something different? Is it the same as "They may consider selling off the land to private companies so as to manage/ in order to manage"? Or is it the same as "They may consider selling off the land to manage to private companies"?
About the underlined "to manage", does it modify "private companies" (i.e "private companies that can manage")? Or is it grammatically something different? Is it the same as "They may consider selling off the land to private companies so as to manage/ in order to manage"? Or is it the same as "They may consider selling off the land to manage to private companies"?
Top answer
We can't say for sure without more context.
- We can't say for sure without more context.
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10 Answers
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You can see the original text here:
www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/rappaport/events-and-news/quoted-in-the-news/how-to-shrink-a-city
The sentence in question (which I edited a bit) is in the fourth paragraph.
www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/rappaport/events-and-news/quoted-in-the-news/how-to-shrink-a-city
The sentence in question (which I edited a bit) is in the fourth paragraph.
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They will consider selling off the land to private companies so that these companies can manage the land.
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Yes, actually, that's how I read it first. But I wondered if it was grammatically really possible for the infinitive "to manage" alone there to mean that way, so I asked the question.
fj, do you think the sentence in question is a bit "loose" and, strictly speaking, ungrammatical?
fj, do you think the sentence in question is a bit "loose" and, strictly speaking, ungrammatical?
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Or let me ask this way.
If the sentence was something like this instead, would it be a bit clearer?
They may consider selling off the land to private companies for the companies to manage it.
If the sentence was something like this instead, would it be a bit clearer?
They may consider selling off the land to private companies for the companies to manage it.
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Good. I thought as a stand alone sentence it was unclear whether "they" or "private companies" managed the land.
Thank you, fj!
Thank you, fj!
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TakaGood. I thought as a stand alone sentence it was unclear whether "they" or "private companies" managed the land.OK, perhaps, but it wasn't a stand-alone sentence. Few sentences are.
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