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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
reluctant modifier
In the sentence: "She asked a most reluctant favor of those who had caused her so much pain." Is it correct to have "reluctant" modifying "favor" when the person "reluctant" is the one asking not the one asked? Is it understood in the sentence who is the reluctant one?
Top answer
At first, I thought it was the person asking who was reluctant. But then, it seemed that the favor would be reluctantly granted. So it's not clear.
- At first, I thought it was the person asking who was reluctant.
- But then, it seemed that the favor would be reluctantly granted.
- So it's not clear.
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2 Answers
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At first, I thought it was the person asking who was reluctant. But then, it seemed that the favor would be reluctantly granted. So it's not clear.
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The other option is try to remove the the ambiguity: "She most reluctantly asked a favour[1] of those who had caused her so much pain."
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Webster#Speller_and_Dictionary has a lot to answer fo
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Webster#Speller_and_Dictionary has a lot to answer fo
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