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Monday, February 1, 2010

Poll Results 72

This was the question:

What's the best way to rewrite this sentence? "By leaving for school a few minutes earlier,
this might alleviate some of the congestion."


By leaving for school a few minutes earlier, 1 (0%)
some of the congestion might be alleviated.

If students left for school a few minutes earlier, 27 (23%)
some of the congestion might be alleviated.

Leaving for school a few minutes earlier might 78 (66%)
alleviate some of the congestion.

The sentence doesn't need to be changed. 2 (1%)
None of the above. I can rewrite it a different way. 9 (7%)


Congrats to 23% of you. Let's break it down.
The first sentence is ungrammatical because "some of the congestion" is not leaving for school; students are.
The second sentence is the best choice because it is grammatical and it states who needs to leave earlier.
The third sentence would be my second choice. It is grammatical but no person is mentioned. I always advocate mentioning which person you're talking about.

I would be interested to hear from those of you who could rewrite the sentence in a different way.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

How's this?

Some of the congestion might be alleviated if the students left for school a few minutes earlier.

The Sentence Sleuth said...

That might be okay but I prefer to dispense with the passive voice (be alleviated).