how natural

[ostap77]

"The negotiations were conducted behind closed doors, measures having been taken that no correspondent should receive any information."

How would you simplify it?

How about this "The negotiations were conducted behind closed doors to avoid any information leak to the press"?

 

[TheParser]

"The negotiations were conducted behind closed doors, measures having been taken that no correspondent should receive any information."

How would you simplify it?

How about this "The negotiations were conducted behind closed doors to avoid any information leak to the press"?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Ostap,


(1) I think that you did a great job in simplifying that sentence. Using an

infinitive to replace that absolute construction shows that you are really

becoming fluent in English.

(2) I would only respectfully suggest a tiny change:

The negotiations were conducted behind closed doors to prevent

any information [from being] leak[ed] to the press. (Americans

seem to prefer saying "prevent from." Some varieties of English

may not require the "from.")


***** NOT A TEACHER *****


P. S. Press is now an old-fashioned word in the States. Most people

prefer media. Press was used in the "old days" when there were

only printing presses. Nowadays -- as you young people know -- there

are many other ways to distribute the news (the Internet, mobile devices,

etc.). In fact, Mr. Rupert Murdoch just yesterday started a news "paper"

that is available ONLY on a mobile device.

P.P.S.

The press is.

The media are.

 

[ostap77]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Ostap,


(1) I think that you did a great job in simplifying that sentence. Using an

infinitive to replace that absolute construction shows that you are really

becoming fluent in English.

(2) I would only respectfully suggest a tiny change:

The negotiations were conducted behind closed doors to prevent

any information [from being] leak[ed] to the press. (Americans

seem to prefer saying "prevent from." Some varieties of English

may not require the "from.")


***** NOT A TEACHER *****


P. S. Press is now an old-fashioned word in the States. Most people

prefer media. Press was used in the "old days" when there were

only printing presses. Nowadays -- as you young people know -- there

are many other ways to distribute the news (the Internet, mobile devices,

etc.). In fact, Mr. Rupert Murdoch just yesterday started a news "paper"

that is available ONLY on a mobile device.

P.P.S.

The press is.

The media are.

I guess absolute constructions are very formal and wouldn't be often heard in conversation?

 

[TheParser]

I guess absolute comstructions are very formal and wouldn't be often heard in conversation?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Ostap,


I believe that you are 100% correct.

I believe that if a person regularly used nominative absolutes in

her speech, she would be considered a bit "strange." Can you imagine

what people would think if she were to say:

The sun having set, the thermometer began to fall.
His mind burdened with many details, Bill forgot his appointment.
The conference started late, the chair[person] having been delayed by traffic.

Those three examples come from R.W. Pence and D.W. Emery, A Grammar of Present-Day English (New York: MacMillan Publishing, 1963), p.139.

Messrs. Pence and Emery remind us that there are other kinds of

absolutes. (REMEMBER: an absolute is a word or words that have no

grammatical connection to the rest of the sentence. That is, it is does

not "modify" (belong to) any particular word in the main sentence.)

For example: To tell the truth, Henry doesn't seem to know his own mind. That is an infinitive

phrase being used in an absolute sense, and native speakers have no

trouble using such sentences in speech. As I said before, he is certainly

not a handsome dog. That is a clause that is used in an absolute sense,

and -- again -- native speakers have no trouble using such sentences

in speech. Those last two sentences are also credited to Messrs. Pence

and Emery's book.

*****

I believe that nominative absolutes (noun + participle) are the kind

to avoid in conversation -- unless a person wants to sound like a book!!!


***** NOT A TEACHER *****

 

[birdeen's call]

unless a person wants to sound like a book!!!

I love this expression, TheParser.

 

[Rover_KE]

"The negotiations were conducted behind closed doors, measures having been taken that no correspondent should receive any information."

How would you simplify it?

Simplify it?

'The talks were held in private with reporters kept out.'

Rover