Relative clause with “whose”
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I just read the following sentence in a short-biography: "Peter was born in England in 1982, whose parents were from Japan and India."
I think that the use of the relative pronoun "whose" is wrong here, it sounds as if the parents of the year 1982 were from Japan and India.
Am I right, or is this sentence correct?
syntactic-analysis word-order relative-clauses relative-pronouns whose
edited Apr 21 at 16:50
tchrist♦
110k30298479
asked Feb 23 '14 at 0:02
KaterinaKaterina
262
add a comment |
I just read the following sentence in a short-biography: "Peter was born in England in 1982, whose parents were from Japan and India."
I think that the use of the relative pronoun "whose" is wrong here, it sounds as if the parents of the year 1982 were from Japan and India.
Am I right, or is this sentence correct?
syntactic-analysis word-order relative-clauses relative-pronouns whose
edited Apr 21 at 16:50
tchrist♦
110k30298479
asked Feb 23 '14 at 0:02
KaterinaKaterina
262
3
I believe it would sound better if you moved the second clause: Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
– Mari-Lou A
Feb 23 '14 at 0:12
add a comment |
I just read the following sentence in a short-biography: "Peter was born in England in 1982, whose parents were from Japan and India."
I think that the use of the relative pronoun "whose" is wrong here, it sounds as if the parents of the year 1982 were from Japan and India.
Am I right, or is this sentence correct?
syntactic-analysis word-order relative-clauses relative-pronouns whose
edited Apr 21 at 16:50
tchrist♦
110k30298479
asked Feb 23 '14 at 0:02
KaterinaKaterina
262
I just read the following sentence in a short-biography: "Peter was born in England in 1982, whose parents were from Japan and India."
I think that the use of the relative pronoun "whose" is wrong here, it sounds as if the parents of the year 1982 were from Japan and India.
Am I right, or is this sentence correct?
syntactic-analysis word-order relative-clauses relative-pronouns whose
syntactic-analysis word-order relative-clauses relative-pronouns whose
edited Apr 21 at 16:50
tchrist♦
110k30298479
asked Feb 23 '14 at 0:02
KaterinaKaterina
262
edited Apr 21 at 16:50
tchrist♦
110k30298479
asked Feb 23 '14 at 0:02
KaterinaKaterina
262
edited Apr 21 at 16:50
tchrist♦
110k30298479
edited Apr 21 at 16:50
tchrist♦
110k30298479
edited Apr 21 at 16:50
tchrist♦
110k30298479
110k30298479
asked Feb 23 '14 at 0:02
KaterinaKaterina
262
asked Feb 23 '14 at 0:02
KaterinaKaterina
262
asked Feb 23 '14 at 0:02
KaterinaKaterina
262
262
3
I believe it would sound better if you moved the second clause: Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
– Mari-Lou A
Feb 23 '14 at 0:12
add a comment |
3
I believe it would sound better if you moved the second clause: Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
– Mari-Lou A
Feb 23 '14 at 0:12
3
3
I believe it would sound better if you moved the second clause: Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
– Mari-Lou A
Feb 23 '14 at 0:12
I believe it would sound better if you moved the second clause: Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
– Mari-Lou A
Feb 23 '14 at 0:12
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
Whose is the right relative pronoun to use, but the placement of the relative clause makes it awkward and incorrect. Relative clauses typically closely follow their referents:
Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
Alternatively, you could try to subordinate the other clause like so:
Peter, who was born in England in 1982, had parents from Japan and India.
Unfortunately the genitive relationship between Peter and his parents doesn't fare well across the relative clause (as in your original sentence as well), so a different construction must be used if you wish to maintain the initial ordering of the clauses.
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:14
MunchyWillyMunchyWilly
40337
add a comment |
You are correct, the relative clause is misplaced. It should be placed thus:
Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
To maintain the given sequence of topics, you need to break it into coordinated clauses; the best coordinator here would be a point, either a semicolon or a period.
Peter was born in England in 1982; his parents were from Japan and India.
You can also manipulate the content a bit to make the fact in the second clause a second adjunct:
Peter was born in England in 1982, of parents from Japan and India.
ADDED:
I also applaud MunchyWilly's second solution, relativizing the first clause instead of the second.
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:20
StoneyBStoneyB
65.3k3115216
Thank you, I upvoted this as well for the coordinated clause possibility - it's a very elegant solution.
– MunchyWilly
Feb 23 '14 at 3:20
add a comment |
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Whose is the right relative pronoun to use, but the placement of the relative clause makes it awkward and incorrect. Relative clauses typically closely follow their referents:
Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
Alternatively, you could try to subordinate the other clause like so:
Peter, who was born in England in 1982, had parents from Japan and India.
Unfortunately the genitive relationship between Peter and his parents doesn't fare well across the relative clause (as in your original sentence as well), so a different construction must be used if you wish to maintain the initial ordering of the clauses.
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:14
MunchyWillyMunchyWilly
40337
add a comment |
Whose is the right relative pronoun to use, but the placement of the relative clause makes it awkward and incorrect. Relative clauses typically closely follow their referents:
Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
Alternatively, you could try to subordinate the other clause like so:
Peter, who was born in England in 1982, had parents from Japan and India.
Unfortunately the genitive relationship between Peter and his parents doesn't fare well across the relative clause (as in your original sentence as well), so a different construction must be used if you wish to maintain the initial ordering of the clauses.
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:14
MunchyWillyMunchyWilly
40337
add a comment |
Whose is the right relative pronoun to use, but the placement of the relative clause makes it awkward and incorrect. Relative clauses typically closely follow their referents:
Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
Alternatively, you could try to subordinate the other clause like so:
Peter, who was born in England in 1982, had parents from Japan and India.
Unfortunately the genitive relationship between Peter and his parents doesn't fare well across the relative clause (as in your original sentence as well), so a different construction must be used if you wish to maintain the initial ordering of the clauses.
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:14
MunchyWillyMunchyWilly
40337
Whose is the right relative pronoun to use, but the placement of the relative clause makes it awkward and incorrect. Relative clauses typically closely follow their referents:
Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
Alternatively, you could try to subordinate the other clause like so:
Peter, who was born in England in 1982, had parents from Japan and India.
Unfortunately the genitive relationship between Peter and his parents doesn't fare well across the relative clause (as in your original sentence as well), so a different construction must be used if you wish to maintain the initial ordering of the clauses.
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:14
MunchyWillyMunchyWilly
40337
edited Feb 23 '14 at 0:20
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:14
MunchyWillyMunchyWilly
40337
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:14
MunchyWillyMunchyWilly
40337
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:14
MunchyWillyMunchyWilly
40337
40337
add a comment |
add a comment |
You are correct, the relative clause is misplaced. It should be placed thus:
Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
To maintain the given sequence of topics, you need to break it into coordinated clauses; the best coordinator here would be a point, either a semicolon or a period.
Peter was born in England in 1982; his parents were from Japan and India.
You can also manipulate the content a bit to make the fact in the second clause a second adjunct:
Peter was born in England in 1982, of parents from Japan and India.
ADDED:
I also applaud MunchyWilly's second solution, relativizing the first clause instead of the second.
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:20
StoneyBStoneyB
65.3k3115216
Thank you, I upvoted this as well for the coordinated clause possibility - it's a very elegant solution.
– MunchyWilly
Feb 23 '14 at 3:20
add a comment |
You are correct, the relative clause is misplaced. It should be placed thus:
Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
To maintain the given sequence of topics, you need to break it into coordinated clauses; the best coordinator here would be a point, either a semicolon or a period.
Peter was born in England in 1982; his parents were from Japan and India.
You can also manipulate the content a bit to make the fact in the second clause a second adjunct:
Peter was born in England in 1982, of parents from Japan and India.
ADDED:
I also applaud MunchyWilly's second solution, relativizing the first clause instead of the second.
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:20
StoneyBStoneyB
65.3k3115216
Thank you, I upvoted this as well for the coordinated clause possibility - it's a very elegant solution.
– MunchyWilly
Feb 23 '14 at 3:20
add a comment |
You are correct, the relative clause is misplaced. It should be placed thus:
Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
To maintain the given sequence of topics, you need to break it into coordinated clauses; the best coordinator here would be a point, either a semicolon or a period.
Peter was born in England in 1982; his parents were from Japan and India.
You can also manipulate the content a bit to make the fact in the second clause a second adjunct:
Peter was born in England in 1982, of parents from Japan and India.
ADDED:
I also applaud MunchyWilly's second solution, relativizing the first clause instead of the second.
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:20
StoneyBStoneyB
65.3k3115216
You are correct, the relative clause is misplaced. It should be placed thus:
Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
To maintain the given sequence of topics, you need to break it into coordinated clauses; the best coordinator here would be a point, either a semicolon or a period.
Peter was born in England in 1982; his parents were from Japan and India.
You can also manipulate the content a bit to make the fact in the second clause a second adjunct:
Peter was born in England in 1982, of parents from Japan and India.
ADDED:
I also applaud MunchyWilly's second solution, relativizing the first clause instead of the second.
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:20
StoneyBStoneyB
65.3k3115216
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:20
StoneyBStoneyB
65.3k3115216
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:20
StoneyBStoneyB
65.3k3115216
answered Feb 23 '14 at 0:20
StoneyBStoneyB
65.3k3115216
65.3k3115216
Thank you, I upvoted this as well for the coordinated clause possibility - it's a very elegant solution.
– MunchyWilly
Feb 23 '14 at 3:20
add a comment |
Thank you, I upvoted this as well for the coordinated clause possibility - it's a very elegant solution.
– MunchyWilly
Feb 23 '14 at 3:20
Thank you, I upvoted this as well for the coordinated clause possibility - it's a very elegant solution.
– MunchyWilly
Feb 23 '14 at 3:20
Thank you, I upvoted this as well for the coordinated clause possibility - it's a very elegant solution.
– MunchyWilly
Feb 23 '14 at 3:20
add a comment |
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3
I believe it would sound better if you moved the second clause: Peter, whose parents were from Japan and India, was born in England in 1982.
– Mari-Lou A
Feb 23 '14 at 0:12