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Relative pronouns
Hi, there
Should you say "This fact in itself blows out of the water THE ARGUMENT THAT everyone is given the same opportunities", "This fact in itself blows THE ARGUMENT out of the water THAT everyone is given the same opportunities" or "This fact in itself blows THE ARGUMENT THAT everyone is given the same opportunities out of the water"
Which of these is right?
Thank you
Jun 28, 2019 2:11 AM
Answers · 7
Fernando, the third one is the best for two reasons that are generally applicable in English:
1. The relative clause should come immediately after its antecedent (in this case “argument”). (This is probably the case in Portuguese as well.)
2. Prepositional phrases used as predicates usually come at the end of the sentence. (This is not usually the case in Portuguese.)
June 28, 2019
The last one reads as the clearest version, because the (somewhat hyperbolic) prepositional phrase comes last. #2 puts the prepositional phrase between “the argument” and the actual argument. #1 puts that phrase between the main verb and the “argument”. Either is more hard to follow than putting it at the end.
June 28, 2019
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June 28, 2019
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