Sentence structure issue

Question

Hello All - I would like to seek your advice on a sentence structure starting with a phrase, and then a clause as follows:

"With a good bone structure and lovely skin, I don't think you need to gild the lily by wearing any make-up"
I was told that in this sentence, the suject "I" was misplaced, when you parse it, it means "I have a good bone structure and lovely skin"..But then I was told by someone else, there is no such rules, as it's understood that the phrase is referred to "you" in the sentence.
Can anyone here enlighten me? Is there such a rule in English? Would it be outdated as time goes by? With great thanks.

KL

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hello All - I would like to seek your advice on a sentence structure starting with a phrase, and then ... enlighten me? Is there such a rule in English? Would it be outdated as time goes by? With great thanks.[/nq]
The sentence would be better written "With your good bone structure and lovely skin, I don't think you need to gild the lily by wearing any make-up"
There's no point in worrying about rules when a simple substitution of one word for another eliminates any ambiguity.

Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Hello All - I would like to seek your advice ... it be outdated as time goes by? With great thanks.[/nq]
[nq:1]The sentence would be better written "With your good bone structure and lovely skin, I don't think you need to ... about rules when a simple substitution of one word for another eliminates any ambiguity. Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida[/nq]
In other words, some subordinate clauses are better than others. What is throwing the original sentence off is the indefinite article a*. Since the speaker is addressing someone, Tony's *your is the stronger modifier.

J

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hello All - I would like to seek your advice on a sentence structure starting with a phrase, and then ... me? Is there such a rule in English? Would it be outdated as time goes by? =A0With great thanks. KL[/nq]
This is known as a misplaced modifer. A modifier is assumed to modify the modifiable word it's closest to; when a phrase begins a sentence, it is assumed to modify the noun or pronoun of the sentence. So, according to this arrangement, the speaker is claiming to have good bone structure and lovely skin and the speaker's possession of these makes it unnecessary for the listener to use make-up. Either change that one word to make it clear that the modifier is about the listener, or rearrange the sentence.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hello All - I would like to seek your advice on a sentence structure starting with a phrase, and then a clause as follows: "With a good bone structure and lovely skin, I don't think you need to gild the lily by wearing any make-up"[/nq]
You could also improve this as so: "With a good bone structure and lovely skin, you don't need, in my opinion, to gild the lily by wearing any make-up"
Personal remarks. I have heard the phrase but don't know what gild the lily means, so please don't assume I'm endorsing it just because I re-used it.
"You don't need any make-up" sounds fine to me, but in the complicated sentences here, your original and the amended versions, I think it might mean more what you want and sound better without the word "any". Don't know why.
[nq:1]I was told that in this sentence, the suject "I" was misplaced, when you parse it, it means "I have ... someone else, there is no such rules, as it's understood that the phrase is referred to "you" in the sentence.[/nq]
Maybe, maybe not, and at some point, phrases used like you did are hard to understand or sound funny. So it's probably good to get into good habits.
[nq:1]Can anyone here enlighten me? Is there such a rule in English? Would it be outdated as time goes by? With great thanks. KL[/nq]
If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Hello All - I would like to seek your advice ... you need to gild the lily by wearing any make-up"[/nq]
[nq:1]You could also improve this as so: "With a good bone structure and lovely skin, you don't need, in my opinion, to gild the lily by wearing any make-up"[/nq]
Anyway you cut it, "a good bone structure" is awkward at best. Bones, not a bone, is what is being referred to. I prefer "With your good bone structure...".
[nq:1]Personal remarks. I have heard the phrase but don't know what gild the lily means, so please don't assume I'm endorsing it just because I re-used it.[/nq]
It applies. A lily is beautiful without any adornment. It's not necessary to gild it - cover it with a layer of gold - to make it attractive.
[nq:1]"You don't need any make-up" sounds fine to me, but in the complicated sentences here, your original and the amended versions, I think it might mean more what you want and sound better without the word "any". Don't know why.[/nq]
I'd strike "any" also. It's not a big deal, but even a woman with good bone structure and lovely skin might want to add lipstick. Or not.

Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]You could also improve this as so: "With a good ... my opinion, to gild the lily by wearing any make-up"[/nq]
[nq:1]Anyway you cut it, "a good bone structure" is awkward at best. Bones, not a bone, is what is being referred to. I prefer "With your good bone structure...".[/nq]
Some kids had Lincoln Logs or Brick Town. I had Block City. Some kids had Legos. I had Bone Structures. I didn't need to play with the most popular toy.
[nq:2]Personal remarks. I have heard the phrase but don't know ... don't assume I'm endorsing it just because I re-used it.[/nq]
[nq:1]It applies. A lily is beautiful without any adornment. It's not necessary to gild it - cover it with a layer of gold - to make it attractive.[/nq]
OK. Thanks.
[nq:2]"You don't need any make-up" sounds fine to me, but ... and sound better without the word "any". Don't know why.[/nq]
[nq:1]I'd strike "any" also. It's not a big deal, but even a woman with good bone structure and lovely skin might want to add lipstick. Or not.[/nq]
That's true too, but that wasn't the reason I didn't like "any". I guess I thought it was superfluous. If you don't need make-up, you don't need any make-up. Because if you needed one item of make-up, you'd need make-up. Somehow using "any" seems more acceptable in the shorter sentence I said was fine, perhaps because it seems idiomatic there, but once a sentence gets long or complicated, they're no longer idiomatic and patching together shorter idiomatic phrases into a longer sentence often bothers me.
If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)

Sentence structure issue

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