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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Parallel sentence structure / lists
Hi all,
I have a quick question about the following sentence:
Organizing a school book sale allows students to skim, sort and organize their books at the sale.
Assuming that "skim" and "sort" refer to the noun "books," the intention of the sentence is to say "...allows students to skim their books, sort their books and organize their books at the sale." However, does ending the sentence with "at the sale" imply that students "skim their books at the sale, sort their books at the sale and organize their books at the sale"?
I haven't been able to find a rule to guide me. Any thoughts? Thank you very much for your help!
I have a quick question about the following sentence:
Organizing a school book sale allows students to skim, sort and organize their books at the sale.
Assuming that "skim" and "sort" refer to the noun "books," the intention of the sentence is to say "...allows students to skim their books, sort their books and organize their books at the sale." However, does ending the sentence with "at the sale" imply that students "skim their books at the sale, sort their books at the sale and organize their books at the sale"?
I haven't been able to find a rule to guide me. Any thoughts? Thank you very much for your help!
Top answer
There is no rule, so you have to fall back on common sense. If the meaning is confusing (as it is here), you should re-cast: Organizing a school book sale allows students to skim and sort their books, then organize them at the sale.
- There is no rule, so you have to fall back on common sense.
- If the meaning is confusing (as it is here), you should re-cast: Organizing a school book sale allows students to skim and sort their books, then organize them at the sale.
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1 Answers
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There is no rule, so you have to fall back on common sense. If the meaning is confusing (as it is here), you should re-cast:
Organizing a school book sale allows students to skim and sort their books, then organize them at the sale.
Organizing a school book sale allows students to skim and sort their books, then organize them at the sale.
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