Allen165
Key Member
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2009
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- Canada
- Current Location
- Switzerland
"Surprisingly few modern grammarians discuss what has become an increasingly common problem: the separation of the relative pronoun (that, which, who) from its antecedent. For example, in the sentence “The files sitting in the office that I was talking about yesterday are in disarray,” the word that—technically—modifies office, not files. But many writers today would intend to have it modify files. They would loosely employ a 'remote relative.'” (Source: Remote Relatives: Information from Answers.com)
Would getting rid of "that" solve the problem in the sentence "The files sitting in the office that I was talking about yesterday are in disarray"? Probably not, but the sentence does sound better to me without "that."
How would one rewrite the sentence to solve the "remote relative" problem?
Thanks!
Would getting rid of "that" solve the problem in the sentence "The files sitting in the office that I was talking about yesterday are in disarray"? Probably not, but the sentence does sound better to me without "that."
How would one rewrite the sentence to solve the "remote relative" problem?
Thanks!