What do you make of this sentence?

Question

This is a more advanced grammar question. Please tell me what the technical meaning is:

It is claimed that this radio advertising was for the benefit of Miss Jean Tennyson, one of the singers on the program, who in private life is Mrs. Camille Dreyfus, the wife of the president of the company and one of its directors.

I am interested in the last part of the sentence. Grammatically, does this sentence mean that Dreyfus is both the wife and a director? The intended meaning is that the president is also one of the directors, but I am interested as to whether the sentence actually means this.

Thanks!
Tim

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Well, I read it to mean that Jean is 1 Mrs. Dreyfus, 2 the president's wife 3 a director. In other words, I see this as a list of 3 things.

I can see how the other interpretation might be possible, but it would seem to me like a very awkward way to write the sentence if such were the intended meaning.

Best wishes, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

No, Mrs. Dreyfus was both Mr. Dreyfus' wife, and a director of the company.

James0x2a · Answer

Greetings from the future, and apologies for the thread necromancy. I found this post while researching the New York court case Bayer v. Beran, 49 N.Y.S.2d 2 (Sup. Ct. 1944). The statement from the original question is a quote from this case.

I agree that the sentence as written implies that Mrs. Dreyfus is a wife and a director. That's the natural way to read the sentence in Engl

I agree that the sentence as written implies that Mrs. Dreyfus is a wife and a director. That's the natural way to read the sentence in English. In context, however, my understanding is that Mrs. Dreyfus is a wife, and Mr. Dreyfus is the president and a director.

Also, this sentence contains a very outdated way to refer to a person's wife. Mr. Dreyfus's first name is Camille. Mrs. Dreyfus is Jean Dreyfus, who performed under her maiden name, Jean Tennyson. In American English, it is an outdated custom to refer to a man's wife as "Mrs. (The man's name)." For instance, John Smith's wife might be referred to as "Mrs. John Smith." This is no longer seen as appropriate because it removes the wife's individual identity and treats her as a mere appendage of her husband.

A clearer way to write this would be to use more than one sentence.

Plaintiffs claim that this radio advertising was for the benefit of Miss Jean Tennyson, one of the singers on the program, who in private life is Mrs. Jean Dreyfus. Mrs. Dreyfus is the wife of Dr. Camille Dreyfus, the president of the company and one of its directors.

Anonymous · Answer

Mrs. Dreyfus was a director of the company, as was Mr. Dreyfus, of course, so you can read the end of the sentence either way, but I believe as written, it intended to say that Mrs. Dreyfus was both married to the president of American Celanese, and was a director of that company.

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