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Desafinado Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Which is better

Please someone help me understand the difference between the following sentences.

What I explained about the reason why we received it amazed her.

I explained to her the reason why we received it. It amazed her.
  

Top answer

If you assume that "it" in the second example refers to "my explanation" then they mean about the same. It may be clearer to explicitly write "my explanation" though. For me, the first example feels just slightly convoluted and awkward to read, and "explained about the reason" is a bit vaguer than "explained to her the reason", and not necessarily specifically directed to "her".

— GPY

  • If you assume that "it" in the second example refers to "my explanation" then they mean about the same.
  • It may be clearer to explicitly write "my explanation" though.
  • For me, the first example feels just slightly convoluted and awkward to read, and "explained about the reason" is a bit vaguer than "explained to her the reason", and not necessarily specifically directed to "her".
  • Consider whether "had received" is better than "received".
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2 Answers
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If you assume that "it" in the second example refers to "my explanation" then they mean about the same. It may be clearer to explicitly write "my explanation" though. For me, the first example feels just slightly convoluted and awkward to read, and "explained about the reason" is a bit vaguer than "explained to her the reason", and not necessarily specifically directed to "her".

Consider
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Thanks for your thorough explanation! It is a big help!
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