Which sentence is the correctly joined? | Q&A about words

You are not logged in. [Log In] Wordsmith.org » Forums » General Topics » Q&A about words » Which sentence is the correctly joined?

Page 1 of 2

Topic Options

#213195 - 11/13/13 03:12 AM Which sentence is the correctly joined?
Lionel Koh newbie Registered: 09/24/12 Posts: 41	The police had been looking for the snatch thief for the past two weeks. Rupert was the snatch thief. (This is a question which tests students on synthesis of sentences.) Where I live, the second sentence refers to the fact that Rupert was the snatch thief. I wonder whether native speakers interpret it that way. I have joined above underlined sentences as follows and wonder which sentence is correctly joined? If neither, how should the sentences be joined? Thanks. Rupert was the snatch thief, whom the police had been looking for the past two weeks. Rupert, whom the police had been looking for for the past two weeks, was the snatch thief. Edited by Lionel Koh (11/13/13 03:15 AM)
Top

#213199 - 11/13/13 11:12 AM Re: Which sentence is the correctly joined? [Re: Lionel Koh]
Lionel Koh newbie Registered: 09/24/12 Posts: 41	Could somebody please help?
Top

#213213 - 11/14/13 02:01 AM Re: Which sentence is the correctly joined? [Re: Lionel Koh]
jenny jenny veteran Registered: 06/05/10 Posts: 1554 Loc: Lower Aberdeen, Mississippi	The police had been looking for the snatch thief for the past two weeks. Then Rupert was found to be the snatch thief. But remember, Lionel. Rupert is innocent until proven guilty by a jury of his peers. Is not your world the same?
Top

#213216 - 11/14/13 08:12 AM Re: Which sentence is the correctly joined? [Re: Lionel Koh]
Faldage Carpal Tunnel Registered: 12/01/00 Posts: 13803	Rupert is PRESUMED innocent till found guilty. I'd go with: Rupert was the snatch thief that the police had been looking for the past two weeks. No comma and that instead of whom. This is a good old fashioned restrictive clause. Presumably there are other snatch thieves out there that the police were either not looking for or who they had not been looking for for the past two weeks. The other version assumes the police already knew Rupert was the snatch thief or that he was being sought by the police for some other matter. I'm assuming that the police were looking for the snatch thief and that all you are saying is that that snatch thief was, in fact, Rupert. And if you want to go all high-register I would pied-pipe that whom up front and say: Rupert, for whom the police had been looking for the past two weeks, was the snatch thief. If you want good old colloquial English, who is just fine in this context: Rupert, who the police had been looking for for the past two weeks, was the snatch thief.
Top

#213217 - 11/14/13 09:35 AM Re: Which sentence is the correctly joined? [Re: Faldage]
tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Registered: 04/03/00 Posts: 10538 Loc: this too shall pass	while we're about this, what's the origin of "snatch thief"? it certainly isn't an idiom you hear in American English.
Top

#213227 - 11/14/13 07:45 PM Re: Which sentence is the correctly joined? [Re: Lionel Koh]
Faldage Carpal Tunnel Registered: 12/01/00 Posts: 13803	Google ngrams doesn't find it in British English, either.
Top

#213259 - 11/17/13 01:48 PM Re: Which sentence is the correctly joined? [Re: tsuwm]
Lionel Koh newbie Registered: 09/24/12 Posts: 41	[quote=tsuwm]while we're about this, what's the origin of "snatch thief"? it certainly isn't an idiom you hear in American English. (This link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snatch_theft)defines "snatch thief".) Edited by Lionel Koh (11/17/13 01:59 PM)
Top

#213260 - 11/17/13 04:27 PM Re: Which sentence is the correctly joined? [Re: Lionel Koh]
tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Registered: 04/03/00 Posts: 10538 Loc: this too shall pass	>a criminal act, common in Southeast Asia and South America yes, I gathered this much, but those are rather geographically separate areas, and this doesn't really address my question as to the origin of the term.
Top

#213263 - 11/17/13 08:26 PM Re: Which sentence is the correctly joined? [Re: Lionel Koh]
Faldage Carpal Tunnel Registered: 12/01/00 Posts: 13803	I, for one, don't see a problem with the phrase snatch thief. It's not used in American, or apparently British, English but it is immediately obvious what it means.
Top

#213265 - 11/17/13 10:41 PM Re: Which sentence is the correctly joined? [Re: Faldage]
tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Registered: 04/03/00 Posts: 10538 Loc: this too shall pass	I don't have a problem with it either, I was just wondering about the origin (he said for the third time).
Top

Page 1 of 2

Moderator: Jackie

Forum Stats

8947 Members
16 Forums
13866 Topics
222206 Posts

Max Online: 3341 @ 12/09/11 02:15 PM

Newest Members


	Wordsmith Talk		About Us \| What's New \| Search \| Site Map \| Contact Us

Wordsmith Talk