Is this sentence correct?
The object of which you want to monitor the movements
Is there another way to say the same thing?
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Depends on what you mean. You may actually mean "for which" in this case, but it's not clear from the information provided.– RobustoJul 7, 2014 at 10:48
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2 Answers
The phrase is correct, at least in the sense that it is in accordance with the precepts of Latin grammar as they have been applied to English. There is no particular reason, other than arbitrary decree and academic habit, why the sentence should have been constructed in that way (which was very likely in order to avoid ending the sentence/clause with a preposition). A more natural formulation using approximately the same words would have been
The object which you want to measure the movements of
That formulation has the unfortunate property that it violates prescriptive grammar as jarringly as the prescriptive formulation violates natural grammar. An alternative that would say the same thing without disturbing anybody's sensibilities would be
The object whose movements you want to measure
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2Without disturbing anybody's sensibities? There are some people who believe in a zombie rule that you can't use whose to refer to inanimates! See, for example, this. Jul 7, 2014 at 11:52
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@ColinFine - Okay (he said is "no true Scotsman" fashion), no sane person's sensibilities.– byeJul 7, 2014 at 12:19
The phrase is not correct. Presumably the author started with the phrase:
the object which you want to measure the movements of,
and said "oh no! that ends with a preposition!" So they moved the of and obtained
the object of which you want to measure the movements,
changing a grammatical phrase to a patently ungrammatical one. What they should have done was rearrange the phrase to obtain:
the object the movements of which you want to measure.
In my opinion, the first of these three options is the best.
answered Jul 7, 2014 at 19:06
