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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

WHERAS question

Hi,

She stated that X is Y, whereas Z is K.

She stated that X is Y whereas Z is K.

Which is correct?

The second sentence seems correct, but it also appears that Z is K is contradicting what SHE said (which is X is Y). that is, SHE is wrong...it is Z is K.

In the first sentence, it seems like BOTH are what SHE said...
  

Top answer

To me, the second sentence seems more likely to admit the meaning that she stated both. However, in a context where there's a real risk of ambiguity, I don't think you can rely on the presence or absence of the comma to disambiguate. You'd have to find another way of writing it.

— Mr Wordy

  • To me, the second sentence seems more likely to admit the meaning that she stated both.
  • However, in a context where there's a real risk of ambiguity, I don't think you can rely on the presence or absence of the comma to disambiguate.
  • You'd have to find another way of writing it.
  • If there's no risk of ambiguity, and you mean that she stated only that "X is Y", then the first sentence seems perfectly acceptable to me.
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1 Answers
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To me, the second sentence seems more likely to admit the meaning that she stated both. However, in a context where there's a real risk of ambiguity, I don't think you can rely on the presence or absence of the comma to disambiguate. You'd have to find another way of writing it.

If there's no risk of ambiguity, and you mean that she stated only that "X is Y", then the first senten
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