sentence correction help?

[bspkumar]

Hi all,

Please suggest me the correct sentence and also tell me the grammar rules to follow. I think this case comes under placing adjectives in the correct place in a sentence.

1.I don't know exactly what and how to teach.
2.I don't know what and how exactly to teach.

Thank you.

[5jj]

Although you will hear and see both, there is a certain ambiguity in them. If you wish to remove the ambiguity you will have to say something like one of the following, depending on what message you wish to convey.

I don't know what to teach or * how exactly to teach.
I don't know how to teach, or * what exactly to teach.

In those two, you could move 'exactly' to the place I have marked with an asterisk

I don't exactly know what or how to teach.

In the third example, if you were to place 'exactly' after 'know', as in your original sentence #1, it is not clear which word(s) it modifies.

It's probably just personal feeling, but I would use 'precisely' rather than 'exactly'.

[bspkumar]

Thank you very much for the reply. I understand the logic now.

I am working in IT field now and want to switch to mass media industry which requires strong written communication skills. I've been working to improve my written communication skills. Any suggestions are appreciated.