Re: Repeat the verb?

["Kathleen MacDowell" <kathleen -at- writefortheuser -dot- com>]

I'd leave "..., and should" and add "it"  "...." and it should combine..."

Reasoning: there's a shift in verbs, "the bank should have" to "and
(the bank should") combine."

I'm not very good at explaining things grammatically, but when the
language is dense and there's a shift in content/verbs/etc., I usually
try to repeat if I can't do a rewrite. It just makes it easier to
understand.

Regards,

Kathleen

On Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 11:25 AM, technical writing plus
<doc-x -at- earthlink -dot- net> wrote:
> Here is my opinion. Do away with the comma in the middle (, and should..).
>  As to the repeated 'should': I do not think that it is 'bad English'. In
>  fact, sometimes it ought to be repeated.
>
>  Here I'd say that your 'should' ought to be repeated. This repetition makes
>  the sentence clearer.
>
>  Jim Jones
>
>
>  -----Original Message-----
>  ..Please note: a bulleted list is not permissible in this document. It's not
>  the style. And, because the document is describing complex regulatory
>  requirements and relationships, sentences tend to be dense and full. I
>  rewrite the worst, and I consider this sentence to be borderline, but I'm
>  going to leave it as is. There's too much else to do on the doc in the time
>  I have.
>
>  Having provided that context, I ask you this: if you had to incorporate the
>  following sentence as is (and not break it into two sentences, or a bulleted
>  list, or anything else that a reasonably talented tech writer would
>  immediately do), which version would you use? And, please tell me if you
>  would add or remove any punctuation:
>
>  ---The bank should have clear standards for the collection and modification
>  of all elements, and should combine these elements in a manner that most
>  effectively enables it to quantify its exposure to operational risk.
>
>  ---The bank should have clear standards for the collection and modification
>  of all elements, and combine these elements in a manner that most
>  effectively enables it to quantify its exposure to operational risk.
>
>  I always want to repeat the modal auxiliary; it seems too hard to wade
>  through the first long noun phrase and instantly remember that auxiliary
>  when you hit the second base verb form. However, I have been informed that
>  this type of repetition is "bad English."..
>




-- 
Kathleen MacDowell
www.writefortheuser.com
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