With irrational behavior

Question

Are these sentences correct:1) Not all human beings are identified as mentally ill, with irrational behavior being a primary consequence. 2) Not all people are identified as heterosexual, with attraction to the opposite sex being a predominant sexual trait.If they are, what do they mean? Gratefully,Navi.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

navitasanwhat do they mean?

Whoa! You've really gone out on a limb this time! To be honest, those 'with ... being ...' clauses are weird, not to mention that those constructions are probably my personal least favorite.

Both of them are borderline incomprehensible. I'm trying to figure out what grammatical or logical principles you're investigating, because it seems you're always investigating something like that.

navitasanNot all human beings are identified as mentally ill

OK. A true statement.

navitasanwith irrational behavior being a primary consequence.

This is like saying "and irrational behavior is a primary consequence". It says that the primary consequence of the true statement above is that people behave irrationally. That doesn't follow logically as I see it.

navitasanNot all people are identified as heterosexual

OK. Another true statement.

navitasanwith attraction to the opposite *** being a predominant sexual trait.

Again, the connection is odd.
________________

I can't help but feel that you have some misunderstanding about how a "with ... being ..." clause functions. Have you tried finding examples on fraze.it or in COCA or even on Google? That may help.

CJ

Navitasan · Answer

Thank you very much, Jim,

I love your reply! And I really do appreciate the effort.

A native speaker wrote something like that ~~undoubtedly in great haste~~ and caused a lot of confusion in my mind. I sort of panicked. Or rather, I simply panicked. I thought I might check the 'structure' to see if it works. I thought it did not, but I was not sure. Your reply confirmed my suspicion. The sentences do not work.

At first I thought this one might work:

a) Many human beings are identified as mentally ill, with irrational behavior as a primary consequence.

But even that seems to mean something strange. It seems to mean the consequence of their identification as mentally ill is irrational behavior.

But this one seems to me to work:

b) Many human beings are mentally ill, with irrational behavior as a primary consequence.

CalifJim · Answer

navitasanb) Many human beings are mentally ill, with irrational behavior as a primary consequence.

Of all the sentences we've looked at in this thread, this is the most understandable.

Even so, I don't recommend a 'with ... being ...' clause under any circumstances. It's such a weak construction stylistically that it waters down whatever the writer is trying to say.

CJ

Navitasan · Answer

Thank you very much, Jim.

Respectfully,
Navi.

With irrational behavior

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