Timeline for Is this sentence structure conversationally forgivable?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
5 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2014 at 11:37 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | It's a squinting modifier. He once threatened a man with a boxer. What is 'with a boxer' modifying? Similarly, is OP's 'by looking neat and presentable every day' modifying 'My washing powder will help me achieve my dreams' or solely 'achieve my dreams'? (Here, semantic requirements make the choice obvious). | |
| Mar 6, 2014 at 10:12 | comment | added | WS2 | She actually only needs to change one word.Substitute 'of' for 'by' and it makes sense. | |
| Mar 6, 2014 at 9:50 | comment | added | Kilian Foth | Why is that modifier misplaced? Wouldn't "I achieve my dreams by looking presentable" be correct? And isn't this simply the normal "A helps B do X" construction on top of this? Or is there a rule that the X mustn't contain modifiers? | |
| Mar 6, 2014 at 9:32 | vote | accept | Warren van Rooyen | ||
| Mar 6, 2014 at 9:15 | history | answered | Sean Sinclair | CC BY-SA 3.0 |