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SuperESL Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Phrases between Dashes
"The collapse of the bridge was caused partly by the torrential downpour and partly - precise apportionment was impossible - by structural defects inherent to the bridge's design."
Leaving aside whether the sentence is awkward or whether it can be rephrased differently, I would like to know whether the underlined phrase works between the dashes. Or should it be "precise apportionment being impossible" or simply "precise apportionment impossible"? I am interested here chiefly in how a phrase tucked between dashes should relate grammatically with what goes before and what goes after in the sentence.
Thank you.
Leaving aside whether the sentence is awkward or whether it can be rephrased differently, I would like to know whether the underlined phrase works between the dashes. Or should it be "precise apportionment being impossible" or simply "precise apportionment impossible"? I am interested here chiefly in how a phrase tucked between dashes should relate grammatically with what goes before and what goes after in the sentence.
Thank you.
Top answer
SuperESL I would like to know whether the underlined phrase works between the dashes I cannot address that without addressing this: SuperESL whether the sentence is awkward or whether it can be rephrased differently, Sorry.
- SuperESL I would like to know whether the underlined phrase works between the dashes I cannot address that without addressing this: SuperESL whether the sentence is awkward or whether it can be rephrased differently, Sorry.
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4 Answers
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SuperESL I would like to know whether the underlined phrase works between the dashesI cannot address that without addressing this:
SuperESLwhether the sentence is awkward or whether it can be rephrased differently,Sorry.
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"The collapse of the bridge was caused partly by the torrential downpour and partly - to what extent it is impossible to say - by structural defects inherent to the bridge's design."
Would this sentence be more acceptable? Again, my chief concern is with the way a phrase between dashes relates to what goes before and after it. For instance, should or must it be phrased in such a way such
Would this sentence be more acceptable? Again, my chief concern is with the way a phrase between dashes relates to what goes before and after it. For instance, should or must it be phrased in such a way such
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M-dashes are a structural alternative to parentheses, so I would say that the enclosed text needn't fit into the structure though it does need to fit into the train of thought.
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