*"*Each has promised his son..." is for me the least ambiguous. Dick On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 4:18 PM, Scott Lavitt <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Wrong pronoun. Both have promised "his" son. > > --- On *Fri, 7/20/12, Martha Galphin <[log in to unmask]>* wrote: > > > From: Martha Galphin <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Grammar question > To: [log in to unmask] > Date: Friday, July 20, 2012, 12:53 PM > > Found in a book on screenwriting: > > “In that film, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad [*sic*] battle to achieve > the same goal--the acquisition of the last popular action figure for sale > that Christmas season. Both of them have promised their son, and they must > not fail.” > > My question concerns the clause “both of them have promised their son . . > . .” Other than a rewriting of this sentence, is there any way to clarify > the meaning? Now it reads as though Schwarzenegger and Sinbad have a son in > common which is not the case. (Each has only one son; so, *sons* wouldn’t > work.) If rewriting is the answer, what would you suggest? > > > Thank you, > Martha > > ------------------------------ > Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:34:53 -0400 > From: [log in to unmask] > Subject: politics on ATEG; instance of semantic broadening > To: [log in to unmask] > > The ATEG list is dedicated to discussion of teaching grammar and other > language-related issues. Its members represent a range of political > viewpoints, and even serious political discussion would take us far afield, > resolving nothing, and engender rancor. There are many outlets for > political screeds; ATEG is not one of them. Those who abuse this list > should lose their privilege to participate in it. > > To change the topic back to language: it was jarring to hear a Denver > newspaper reporter, interviewed on NPR this morning, describe the Colorado > mass murderer as "the gentleman who did this." For the reporter and likely > for some Americans as well, the word "gentleman" has broadened from its > original meaning to denote simply a male person, with apparently neutral > connotation. > > Dick > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface > at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or > leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web > interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select > "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface > at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or > leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/