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Which of the following sentence structures is correct, or sounds better?
They grow at a faster rate up to three years after treatment than comparable plants.
They grow at a faster rate than comparable plants up to three years after treatment.
Thanks.
The second is the closest, but to be perfectly clear, add the word "for":
They grow at a faster rate than comparable plants for up to three years after treatment.
Both are correct, though the second is preferred stylistically. The general principle is that long, or "heavy" adjuncts should be placed at either the beginning or end of a sentence where possible. This aids comprehension. Shifting of heavy constituents is also useful in the case of relative clauses, which can be quite long. Consider (relative clauses bracketed):
Both are "grammatically correct," but most would agree that the "extraposed" relative clause (#2) is to be preferred from a comprehensibility standpoint, because it does not make you wait forever to hear the predicate, even though the relative clause is separated from the noun it modifies (man).
I agree with the proposal by @Cyberherbalist, but I would also suggest that the first version could additionally be clarified by adding the little word "do":
They grow at a faster rate for up to three years after treatment than do comparable plants.
The first would be preferred since the second statement will apply the "up to three years after treatment" to comparable plants than to the former.
