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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Linguistics Studies
On genitive antecedants.
Do you find anything grammatically incorrect about these sentences?
Newton's genius allowed him to deduce this law as the common explanation for why an apple drops to the ground and the moon orbits the earth.
http://celestrak.com/columns/v01n01/
Fortunately Enheduanna's genius allowed her to integrate the influx and indicate how others could cope with a similar potential catastrophe.
http://www.zyworld.com/DrBernardSButler/Clinical%20Aspects.htm
Newton's genius allowed him to deduce this law as the common explanation for why an apple drops to the ground and the moon orbits the earth.
http://celestrak.com/columns/v01n01/
Fortunately Enheduanna's genius allowed her to integrate the influx and indicate how others could cope with a similar potential catastrophe.
http://www.zyworld.com/DrBernardSButler/Clinical%20Aspects.htm
Top answer
No. " would presumably be acceptable to anyone who thought that the original was ungrammatical; it is difficult to justify why one should be correct and the other not. " seems awkward.
- No.
- " would presumably be acceptable to anyone who thought that the original was ungrammatical; it is difficult to justify why one should be correct and the other not.
- " seems awkward.
- " Of course ambiguity can arise if one is not careful.
- "Newton's father encouraged him to study Latin" is not ambiguous, but "Newton's father said he was good at Latin" is.
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11 Answers
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No.
"The genius of Newton allowed him..." would presumably be acceptable to anyone who thought that the original was ungrammatical; it is difficult to justify why one should be correct and the other not.
"Newton's genius allowed Newton..." seems awkward. One asks "Why not use a pronoun?"
Of course ambiguity can arise if one is not careful. "Newton's father encouraged
"The genius of Newton allowed him..." would presumably be acceptable to anyone who thought that the original was ungrammatical; it is difficult to justify why one should be correct and the other not.
"Newton's genius allowed Newton..." seems awkward. One asks "Why not use a pronoun?"
Of course ambiguity can arise if one is not careful. "Newton's father encouraged
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<but "Newton's father said he was good at Latin" is.>
How could that be ambiguous in context?
How could that be ambiguous in context?
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John and Mary were discussing the education received by Newton and his father. Mary said, "Newton's father said he was good at Latin."
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Forbes"Newton's genius allowed Newton..." seems awkward. One asks "Why not use a pronoun?"I would say: Newton's genius enabled him to deduce...
CB
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If the original examples are grammatically objectionable, then so is e.g.
1. Whose mother abandoned him when he was two years old?
— which would be bad news for quizmasters.
MrP
1. Whose mother abandoned him when he was two years old?
— which would be bad news for quizmasters.
MrP
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AnonymousDo you find anything grammatically incorrect about these sentences?
Newton's genius allowed him to deduce this law as the common explanation for why an apple drops to the ground and the moon orbits the earth.
http://celest
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<( What is this? A let's 'split hairs' fun and games post?)>
Could be, but then it might be a "getting into the nitty-gritty of language" post, which is what this forum is about.
Could be, but then it might be a "getting into the nitty-gritty of language" post, which is what this forum is about.
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I think you might have missed the point, and the title, of this thread, Danny-K.
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AnonymousI think you might have missed the point, and the title, of this thread, Danny-K.Yes, maybe so, this being an English grammar site and all, perhaps I have.
However, I still don't think the examples presented are that bad, particularly if they are presented to highlight the fact that there is no explicit antecedent for the pr
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