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Palinkasocsi Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
The use of 'of'
Dear Friends,
I wonder if 'of' in the following is at the right place and correct:
Speech understanding is a matter of brainwork which is mental activity rather than of many times obscure or nonexistent expectation on the part of the hearer.
I know that this is technical, academic speech but I hope you can judge from the standpoint of grammar.
Palinkasocsi
I wonder if 'of' in the following is at the right place and correct:
Speech understanding is a matter of brainwork which is mental activity rather than of many times obscure or nonexistent expectation on the part of the hearer.
I know that this is technical, academic speech but I hope you can judge from the standpoint of grammar.
Palinkasocsi
Top answer
It doesn't seem the most elegant sentence ever written, but yes, the second "of" is grammatically correct: it is a matter of brainwork, rather than (a matter) of some other thing.
- It doesn't seem the most elegant sentence ever written, but yes, the second "of" is grammatically correct: it is a matter of brainwork, rather than (a matter) of some other thing.
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5 Answers
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It doesn't seem the most elegant sentence ever written, but yes, the second "of" is grammatically correct: it is a matter of brainwork, rather than (a matter) of some other thing.
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I need to add that the sentence is barely understandable. The "many time" in particular makes it almost incomprehensible.
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I mean the expectations are obscure quite frequently. How would you paraphrase the original sentence then?
Palinkasocsi
Palinkasocsi
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Original:
Speech understanding is a matter of brainwork which is mental activity rather than of many times obscure or nonexistent expectation on the part of the hearer.
Possible rewrite
Rather than being a matter of expectation (which is often obscure or even nonexistent) on the part of the listener, understanding speech is a matter of brainwork, which is mental activity.
Speech understanding is a matter of brainwork which is mental activity rather than of many times obscure or nonexistent expectation on the part of the hearer.
Possible rewrite
Rather than being a matter of expectation (which is often obscure or even nonexistent) on the part of the listener, understanding speech is a matter of brainwork, which is mental activity.
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