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Stenka25 Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
The problem of Inconsistency
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Please read the three sentences below.
a. A large basket of herbs rests against the fence to the west.
b. What you'll be left with is a set of images that is pretty good.
c. Of course I had good backups, but now a copy of my e-mails, client files, personal writings, and book manuscripts were somewhere.
In the sentence a & b, we can see the subject of underlined part is 'basket' and 'set.' But in the sentence c, it seems like the subject is not 'copy' but 'my e-mails, client files, personal writings, and book manuscripts.'
Can you tell me why?
(Can you also show me more example sentences?)
Please read the three sentences below.
a. A large basket of herbs rests against the fence to the west.
b. What you'll be left with is a set of images that is pretty good.
c. Of course I had good backups, but now a copy of my e-mails, client files, personal writings, and book manuscripts were somewhere.
In the sentence a & b, we can see the subject of underlined part is 'basket' and 'set.' But in the sentence c, it seems like the subject is not 'copy' but 'my e-mails, client files, personal writings, and book manuscripts.'
Can you tell me why?
(Can you also show me more example sentences?)
Top answer
I can see what is meant, but it is not well expressed. What I would call sloppy writing - something you may well hear colloquially but which is ungrammatical. is somewhere" OR "but now copies of my ....
- I can see what is meant, but it is not well expressed.
- What I would call sloppy writing - something you may well hear colloquially but which is ungrammatical.
- is somewhere" OR "but now copies of my ....
- are somewhere".
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1 Answers
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I can see what is meant, but it is not well expressed. What I would call sloppy writing - something you may well hear colloquially but which is ungrammatical.
"...but now a copy [of each of] my ....is somewhere" OR "but now copies of my .... are somewhere".
"...but now a copy [of each of] my ....is somewhere" OR "but now copies of my .... are somewhere".
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