This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

RE: [GWL]: grammar


Betty Mackey wrote:
> Before we close down our language topic, I'd like some opinions on this.
> A heading in an advertising mailing from Poets and Writers Magazine 
> reads,
> in large print and all caps:
> 
> "ONE FOURTH OF OUR READERS HAS FOUND PUBLICATION THROUGH OUR MAGAZINE."
> 
> In my opinion, this sounds terrible, even if it is correct (is it?) , 
> and I
> would have avoided this construction.
> -- Betty Mackey
> 
> 
> 
Yes, it sounds terrible and thus is bad writing, but "ONE FOURTH OF OUR 
READERS HAS FOUND..." is correct.  'Fourth' is the subject.  It needs to 
agree in number with the verb, which it does.  So it would be:  "One 
fourth of that pie is mine."  (singular verb)  Thus it also would be 
"One fourth of our readers has found..."  (I test a sentence by 
substituting present tenses and simple subjects and verbs when I am in 
doubt.)  

The Verb in the main sentence ("has found") must agree with the subject 
in the main sentence ("fourth").  The verb may or may not agree with the 
object of a prepositional phrase that modifies the subject.  "Of our 
readers" is just a preposition phrase.  

When the verb doesn't agree in number with a nearby object of the 
preposition, the sentence may sound weird even if it is correct.  I've 
noticed that the farther the verb is from the subject it matches and the 
more prominent the object of the preposition it doesn't match, the 
weirder the sentence sounds.  Whenever a sentence sounds weird to me, I 
rewrite.  I would probably rewrite this headline to something like:  
"Fifty thousand new authors per year because of POETS AND WRITERS 
MAGAZINE."  

That headline/sentence is weird in other ways.  "Has found" is awkward 
in a title, even without the singular/plural problem.  "Finds" would be 
better.  However, "to find publication" is a bit weird by itself, 
especially in a title.  What is really meant is "become published 
authors for the first time."  The sentence is not good writing for all 
these reasons.  However, there was nothing wrong with it that couldn't 
be fixed by the simple and normal editorial expedient of just replacing 
every word with some other word.  

Carol Deppe
Author of BREED YOUR OWN VEGETABLE VARIETIES:  THE GARDENER'S AND 
FARMER'S GUIDE TO PLANT BREEDING AND SEED SAVING (See table of contents, 
excerpts, & reviews at http://www.chelseagreen.com.)  

============================================================
Join Dialfreecalls.com TODAY and make all your phone calls
worldwide for FREE!! No Fees of any kind! Call from Any
Phone! No purchases and No credit cards required. Join Now.
It's Simple, Easy, and Best of All, it's FREE!
http://click.topica.com/caaafizbUrGSSbVSZwBf/Dialfreecalls.com
============================================================

Pass the word to garden writers, editors publishers, horticultural businesses about our list.

==^================================================================
This email was sent to: topica.com@spamfodder.com

EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bUrGSS.bVSZwB
Or send an email to: Gardenwriters-unsubscribe@topica.com

T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail!
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register
==^================================================================
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index