Answers to Questions About Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Constructions

Answers to Questions About Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Constructions Answers to Questions About Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Constructions Answers to Questions About Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Constructions By Mark Nichol The following questions from readers pertain to how to distinguish essential information from nonessential information. 1. A colleague of mine wrote, â€Å"Institutions need to be able to collect and collate data in a centralized tool, which is easily accessible and can be mined to inform data-analytics activities.† I corrected it to â€Å"Institutions need to be able to collect and collate data in a centralized tool that is easily accessible and can be mined to inform data-analytics activities,† but she disagrees with the edit. I know I’m right, but how do I explain it to her? In your revision, you have altered the sentence to reflect the writer’s interest in presenting the essential details that the centralized tool is easily accessible and is conducive to data mining. The original version of the sentence offers the details in an offhand fashion, set off as a subordinate clause rather than as part of the main clause. Both versions are grammatically valid, but only your revision conveys the emphasis the writer intends. 2. When is it right to put a comma in front of â€Å"such as†? In many of your examples, I notice that there is no specific standard to using â€Å"such as.† At times, you write it as â€Å", such as,† and at other times, you omit the comma preceding â€Å"such as.† Are there any rules to using a comma before â€Å"such as†? Precede â€Å"such as† with a comma when the phrase that includes the listed examples is not essential to the sentence, such as in â€Å"The program offers team sports, such as basketball and softball, for adults in recreational and competitive leagues.† Omit a comma before â€Å"such as† when the information is essential: â€Å"The program offers team sports such as the ones listed below for adults in both recreational and competitive leagues.† The wording in these examples is identical, but there’s a subtle difference in meaning: The commas in the first example set off the phrase â€Å"such as basketball and softball† as a parenthesis in the main clause â€Å"The program offers team sports for adults in recreational and competitive leagues,† which states that the program is exclusively for adults. The second sentence refers to a list of sports for adults in recreational and competitive leagues, implying that other team sports may be offered that are exclusively for children or are for adults or children alike or are only recreational or only competitive. 3. â€Å"In the sentence ‘Chairs that don’t have cushions are uncomfortable to sit on,’ I think which is acceptable in place of that, because chairs is a nonperson noun. I would appreciate if you let me know why that is the only correct answer.† The fact that chairs refers to a class of objects, rather than people, is irrelevant. That is not the only correct answer, but it is the best one. In American English, most careful writers employ that and which distinctly to clarify the difference in meaning between restrictively and nonrestrictively constructed sentences: â€Å"Chairs that don’t have cushions are uncomfortable to sit on† refers to a particular class of chairs: those without cushions. The implication is that many chairs are comfortable; the ones specifically referred to are a categorical exception. â€Å"Chairs, which don’t have cushions, are uncomfortable to sit on† expresses- erroneously- that all chairs are cushionless. (The phrase â€Å"which don’t have cushions† is parenthetical; it can be omitted without altering the meaning of the basic sentence: â€Å"Chairs are uncomfortable to sit on.† However, this sentence is also incorrect in its assertion.) Some writers will use which in both types of sentences: â€Å"Chairs which don’t have cushions are uncomfortable to sit on† and this is common in British English but most people (at least those in the United States) recognize that the distinctive wording helps strengthen the role of the commas in distinguishing meaning. By the way, although â€Å"Chairs, which don’t have cushions, are uncomfortable to sit on† and the abridged version, â€Å"Chairs are uncomfortable to sit on,† are logically erroneous comfortable chairs certainly do exist (though, unfortunately, I’m not sitting in one right now) a similarly constructed sentence can be valid: â€Å"Ostriches, which can’t fly, rely on their strong legs for mobility.† Conversely, because no ostriches are capable of flight, â€Å"Ostriches that can’t fly rely on their strong legs for mobility† is problematic. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Comparative Forms of AdjectivesDisappointed + Preposition150 Foreign Expressions to Inspire You

Why is it said that power relationship in organisations entail a Essay

Why is it said that power relationship in organisations entail a Mutual Dependency Provide examples to illustrate - Essay Example While interdependednce of the power equation began primarily in terms of socialiogy (Emerson 1962), it soon came to be very instrumental in the organizational setups across the developed world. It has now been established without doubt that power is central to organizational structure (Hall 2002). Infact several sources of power have been established within organizations (Morgan 1986). These can broadly be classified as Formal authority or legitimate power- This refers to the common concept that leaders or people in the high ladders of hierarchy have authority and compliance on the part of the subordinates is mandatory. Expert power - This is power secured by the acquiring of skills and expertise in a field, that would be required by others. This is by far the most subjective base in the power model (Podsahoff and Schriesheim. 1985) Yet all these bases of power rely on interaction of groups with each other. While the benefits and disadvantages of each of these bases are still being researched, the fact that they all involve dependency and interrelationships are clear. The concept of interdependency of power is aptly described in the works of (Emerson 1962, 1964) It is vital to have an understanding of the distribution of power along both these axes. While it is relatively easy to grasp the power concept along the vertical axis, even simply by applying the model of power bases described above, power dependency along the horizontal axes is relatively harder to visualize. This however is not a reflection of its operational value in an organization.Hence the mutual dependency pattern is observed along both these axes, more obviously in the horizontal than in the vertical, but is present in both. Several examples of the power dependencies can be observed in an organization setting and we will now go on to have a look at some of them. Power dependency along the vertical axis, egs. University structures where students are clearly lower in the hierarchy ladder, provide a good example of interdependencies along the vertical axis. To a large extent students are responsible for the functioning (both financial andoperational) of universities. While the very existence of universities is with the idea of training and teaching students, it is impossible to conceive of universities without the teaching and management staff. Hence while students depend on teachers for learning, and to that extent are under the power of the teachers, the latter also depend on students for the very running of the institution which provides their livelihoods. In terms of enterprises, a