[Grammar] Usage of 'Respectively'

Status
Not open for further replies.

jpcam1

New member
Joined
Oct 25, 2011
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
China
I think the following usage is incorrect. Can anyone verify this?


The talks were held at then main venue in Brussels, respectively, led by John Doe, leader of the Blue team and Jack Jones, leader of the red team.


I think this should read:
The talks were held at then main venue in Brussels, led respectively by John Doe, leader of the Blue team and Jack Jones, leader of the red team.
(assuming there were two seperate talks)


or


The talks were held at then main venue in Brussels, jointly led by John Doe, leader of the Blue team and Jack Jones, leader of the red team.


thanks
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
'Respectively' is inappropriate here. There is no need for 'jointly' unless you wish to stress that they are in fact joint leaders of the talks.
 

scottab123

New member
Joined
Oct 25, 2011
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
South Korea
I will rewrite this in a manner that supports the use of "respectively."

The talks were held at the main venue in Brussels and an ancillary venue in New York. The talks were lead by John Doe and Jack Johnson, respectively.

In this case, there are two separate talks in two locations with two leaders, and the addition of "respectively" lets the reader know which person was the leader at each location.

John Doe was the leader in Brussels, and Jack Johnson was the leader in New York.
 

SoothingDave

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Or we could say "...John Doe and Jack Johnson, leaders of the blue and red teams, respectively."

This associates John with blue and Jack with red.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top