My initial impression is that the writer simply may not have a strong grasp on the meaning of "to constitute." He or she may have semantically mixed the traditional meaning of "to constitute" with a more complex verb such as "to pass off" + a PP beginning with "as." Perhaps the intended meaning was something more akin to "Reading a lot illuminates what passes itself off as good and bad writing..." It's just a theory, but my students often produce these types of unintended semantic mash-ups. I'm sure there are a number of other possible explanations though.

John

On Wed, Oct 10, 2012 at 9:16 AM, Martha Galphin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Why would one write "what constitutes as" as opposed to simpler and in my opinion the correct "constitutes"?
"Constitutes" is a transitive verb not an intransitive verb. Example sentence where the incorrect use was found follows:  "Reading a lot illuminates what constitutes as good and bad writing. . . ." Why not Reading a lot illuminates what constitutes good and bad writing."

I'd really appreciate a direct answer responding to "constitutes as" vs. "constitutes"
for use in class today.

Thank you.

Martha Galphin
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