This sentence is from the Guardian article on Karine Jean-Pierre: She knows that she’s got to be better prepared than anyone.” Such sentences now seem to be the norm. Had it said, "...than anyone else" it would have made sense, but as it is, it suggests that the subject is not one of those referred to as "anyone. Does anyone else find this to be weird? What would William Strunk say!
Originally posted by Geoff: Does anyone else find this to be weird?
Irksome, perhaps, but not weird. I had a teacher in high school who used to rail against that construction, but it's been around a long time, Geoff. McDonald's came out with the slogan, "Nobody can do it like McDonald's can" in 1979," omitting the else. The else is implied.This message has been edited. Last edited by: tinman,
But seriously, when anybody else corrects an alleged solecism, I often wonder: "How did they know what the person was intending to mean, so that they can provide the proper wording?" (And, I wonder this silently because otherwise I might get shot.)
While I hate to get political on a word board, I think the same thing, z, when we hear ad nauseum about constitutional originalists. Really? They knew exactly what our forefathers in the 1700s meant? Give me a break.
Originally posted by zmježd: "How did they know what the person was intending to mean, so that they can provide the proper wording?" (And, I wonder this silently because otherwise I might get shot.)
These days one can get shot for a lot less! As for intent, am I not asking what the writer in the original post intended?
Kalleh, if one is an originalist, that person would have to deny women's right to vote, and blacks would still be 3/5ths people and enslaved even more than they still are.
His co-writer would never have agreed with him. I'd love to know what happened to EB White when he co-authored that book with Strunk. Was Strunk just really controlling or did EB White change his tendencies?
