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Anonymous Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
"Including" followed by preposition???
Is anyone else offended by the increasing use of the word "including" immediately before prepositional phrases? Some examples:
1. Our work so far this year leads us to highlight two main areas where states need to use all means at their disposal, to give effect to and ensure respect for the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment, including in the context of countering terrorism.
2. This set [of floor mats] covers the entire cab floor including under the seats.
3. There is a risk of kidnapping when travelling by road, including to rural tourist
destinations such as Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City).
Instinctively, I chafe when I see this, but I have a hard time explaining to communication professionals WHY it is wrong. Does the customary use of "including" function as a preposition? If so, it would be illogical to follow one preposition with another. Or is "including" more properly described as a participial adjective? Can anyone help? The more thorough the explanation, the better.
1. Our work so far this year leads us to highlight two main areas where states need to use all means at their disposal, to give effect to and ensure respect for the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment, including in the context of countering terrorism.
2. This set [of floor mats] covers the entire cab floor including under the seats.
3. There is a risk of kidnapping when travelling by road, including to rural tourist
destinations such as Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City).
Instinctively, I chafe when I see this, but I have a hard time explaining to communication professionals WHY it is wrong. Does the customary use of "including" function as a preposition? If so, it would be illogical to follow one preposition with another. Or is "including" more properly described as a participial adjective? Can anyone help? The more thorough the explanation, the better.
Top answer
Hello Anon I am an English learner from Japan. Your question is very interesting. I looked for “including” in OED and Webster and found neither of them gives any entry for “including” as a preposition.
- Hello Anon I am an English learner from Japan.
- Your question is very interesting.
- I looked for “including” in OED and Webster and found neither of them gives any entry for “including” as a preposition.
- They only explain it as an infinite form of the verb “include”.
- Since the verb “include” is transitive, it should be always followed by any noun or noun phrase.
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4 Answers
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Hello Anon
I am an English learner from Japan. Your question is very interesting. I looked for “including” in OED and Webster and found neither of them gives any entry for “including” as a preposition. They only explain it as an infinite form of the verb “include”. Since the verb “include” is transitive, it should be always followed by any noun or noun phrase. So, strictly speaking, all
I am an English learner from Japan. Your question is very interesting. I looked for “including” in OED and Webster and found neither of them gives any entry for “including” as a preposition. They only explain it as an infinite form of the verb “include”. Since the verb “include” is transitive, it should be always followed by any noun or noun phrase. So, strictly speaking, all
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I have seen "including" listed as a preposition (Roget's Thesauraus), but I'm not sure that two prepositions in a row is wrong in itself. ("I was unable to vacuum out all the dust from under the couch.")
The construction strikes me as awkward more than "chafing" or "wrong".
While "as well as" doesn't exactly match the meaning of "including", I think it can be used as a sub
The construction strikes me as awkward more than "chafing" or "wrong".
While "as well as" doesn't exactly match the meaning of "including", I think it can be used as a sub
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I share your discomfort with the usage that you describe. Since "including" is itself a preposition, one does not expect a preposition immediately after. Rather, my expectation is that immediately after "including" there will be a noun or pronoun (sometimes modified) that refers to a subset of what comes immediately before. For example: "I have visited several foreign countries, including Never
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AnonymousI share your discomfort with the usage that you describe.I hope you realise you are replying to a thread that has lain dormant for ten years.
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