Let’s return to the topic of sentence design and look at an interesting grammatical arrangement called an absolute construction. Here’s a simple sentence that carries with it, somehow, a more descriptive or even meditative mood: I gardened late into the evening, the sun falling slowly behind the trees. The sentence begins with an independent clause …
Author Archives: rultimo
The Larger Thought
Here’s a problem that illustrates how practical a little theory can be in sorting out the intricacies of modern English. Should I write skyscrapers typify modern architecture or the skyscraper typifies modern architecture? The question draws us into the way many (but not all) languages work, and understanding these constructions can help us make better …
Finding a Rock in a Stream
I managed to involve myself this past week in a difficult online chat with customer service, and early on in the exchange the agent wrote, I am going to send you a code on your mobile number on file, once you receive it please provide it to me. The comma caught my attention, and although …
To Whoever or To Whomever?
It’s spring, it’s time to clean out the garage, and you come upon a clutter of rakes and shovels you no longer use. You say to a friend, Give these tools to whomever needs them. That’s right, right? Setting aside the first problem of why, cleaning the garage, you’d try to be so careful about …
Not Entirely Correct
Imagine two friends engaged in a conversation about politics. One expresses his view that corporate tax rates have never been higher and the other replies, Well, that’s not entirely correct. With this simple response, the speaker has risked conjuring the Furies for a crime of confusion, and it might help us all to sort out …