This is a delightful example. Thanks for forwarding it.

 

Natalie

 

From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dick Veit
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 2:57 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Sequencing information in sentences

 

On occasion we have discussed a speaker's grammatical options for
shaping sentences (by choosing active or passive voice, using
extraposition, etc.) so as to get useful information to listeners in an
appropriate sequence. A letter to the editor in my local paper today
demonstrates how a writer can make some really bad decisions. Here is
his opening sentence:

I was dismayed to see President Obama's plans 
to simultaneously rebuild America's struggling 
economy and find solutions to global warming-- 
through the introduction of clean, renewable energy
and a cap-and-trade system--come under attack 
recently.

Talk about waiting until the very end of a long sentence to insert
crucial information that completely alters its meaning! Seems like an
instructive example to use in a writing class.

Dick Veit
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