I've been a way from the blog for a while, but today's Criminal Sentence proves that poor grammar is alive and well.
From today's paper, in a column about Arizona's immigration law and the Supreme Court's recent decision:
"After some time spent monitoring the media coverage, it became clear why."
Sorry, but that sentence is not at all clear!
Who is spending some time monitoring the media coverage? (Answer: the man who wrote the article; he's the paper's columnist about TV and movies.) He could have written any number of clearer sentences, including this version:
"After I spent some time monitoring the media coverage, it became clear why."
This error is called a "misplaced modifier" (abbreviated MM in the post's title). This blog is full of examples. Maybe one day I won't have to complain about them.
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1 comment:
In various critique groups, we often hear complaints about 'it'. As far as the writer is concerned, IT may be clear, but we have no clue just what IT might be. The sentence could have been clarified (and kept the 'it') by finishing the thought: "After I spent some time monitoring the media coverage, it became clear why everyone was in an uproar over the decision."
Or even better, get rid of the potentially confusing 'it' by changing to the active voice: "After I spent some time monitoring the media coverage, I understood why everyone was in an uproar over the decision."
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