Thread: Deficiencies in the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language
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Old 14-Dec-2006, 03:34
alienvoord alienvoord is offline
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Default Re: Deficiencies in the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrPedantic View Post
The structure in #2 however is used by people who imagine it's somehow more correct than the structure in #3.
How can you say that for sure?

According to Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage, a hypothesis similar to CG's is advanced by Chomksy in Barriers in 1986. He argues that "between" can assign case only to the whole phrase and not to the constituents within it. This means that the items in the co-ordinated phrase are free to take subject or object case, or to be reflexives.

If I ever read Barriers I've forgotten it, so I can't say any more than that.
Last edited by alienvoord; 14-Dec-2006 at 03:40.
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