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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