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Subject:RE: grammar advice: infinitive in US English From:jgarison -at- ide -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 10 Jul 2002 08:43:01 -0400
When faced with a difficult sounding result, I try to recast the sentence.
For example:
To subscribe to the corporate mailing list ...
or
For users to subscribe to the mailing list ...
The double infinitive almost always sounds funny, and I try mightily to
avoid it.
my 2¢,
John
-----Original Message-----
From: Elizabeth OShea [mailto:Elizabeth -dot- OShea -at- emergesmart -dot- com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2002 6:19 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: grammar advice: infinitive in US English
Hi all -
My question is about the following sentence and whether or not it's correct
in US English:
'To enable people subscribe to your company's mailing list...'
Or, should it read 'To enable people to subscribe...'
I have consulted Warriners, Little, Brown, and CUP's Advanced Grammar in
Use. All these sources give examples of when the bare infinitive can be used
(subscribe is the bare infinitive in this example), but I believe this
particular bare infinitive is likely to sound or look wrong to a US-based
ear or eye.
I am happy to accept pedantry about this!
Lastly, does anyone know of a list dedicated to grammar questions?
Thanks once again for providing an excellent resource,
elizabeth oshea
elizabeth -dot- oshea -at- emergesmart -dot- com
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