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I am stumped. I have a sentence I wish to write but am uncertain where I can insert the caveat. The sentence is either:

  • I believe, at their core, all writers are daydreamers.

or

  • I believe all writers are, at their core, daydreamers.

Which is grammatically correct?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

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    Neither of your suggestions is ungrammatical, but I'd use '- I believe that, at their core, all writers are daydreamers. I prefer this style.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Mar 8, 2022 at 12:15

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Both sentences make sense to me. The second option 'I believe all writers are, at their core, daydreamers.' seems better. The 'at their core' part relates specifically to the writers, not your belief, so place it closer to that part of the sentence.

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  • You may wish to consider whether 'at their core' is a free modifier: it is not bound to any verb or noun within the sentence. We could say "I believe that all writers are daydreamers at their core." (or even "At their core, I believe that all writers are daydreamers.") and it is still no clearer what "at their core" modifies - other than the whole that clause.
    – Greybeard
    Commented Mar 8, 2022 at 12:35
  • @Greybeard Common sense disambiguates it. There's nothing else that "at their core" could sensibly refer to than "all writers".
    – Barmar
    Commented Mar 8, 2022 at 18:18

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