 #2 (permalink) Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:47 am Sentence: ...enabling hours of observations to be passed... |
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| Palych wrote: |
A sentence which I have seen in one technical manual written probably by an ESL-speaker:
".. that ensures ideal viewing posture, enabling long hours of observations to be carried out in perfect comfort"
It has caused some questions:
1. I assume, he meant:
"...that ensures ideal viewing posture, enabling long hours observations to be carried out in perfect comfort"
or
"... that ensures ideal viewing posture, enabling long hours of observations to be passed in perfect comfort" |
I fully agree with you here: one cannot carry out hours. In "long hours' observations", there should be an apostrophe after "hours" to indicate the possessive. Even then, it would be ugly. Your second choice is alright.
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2. Can the bare infinitive be used in these sentences
"... that ensures ideal viewing posture, enabling long hours observations be carried out in perfect comfort"? |
No. One enables someone to do someting. The bare infinitive is used only after auxiliary verbs and such.
Incidentally, enabling an action is somewhat unusual. It is recognized by the OED, but it is hardly preferable over a word like "facilitating", although even this will not make the sentence very smooth either. Better to rephrase it altogether.
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3. Is the presence of "of" noticeable?
"... that ensures ideal viewing posture, enabling long hours observations (to) be carried out in perfect comfort"
looks for me more formal and less emotional than
"... that ensures ideal viewing posture, enabling long hours of observations (to) be passed out in perfect comfort" |
I'd say "of" is necessary here if you want to make a neat sentence including "long hours". There is no reason whatsoever to choose either "long hours' " in the possessive with an apostrophe, or "long-hours" as a compound adjective, since there are many better ways to say it, such as "lengthy". Or, if you need a more formal word (why would one ever), "prolonged" or "protracted".
Incidentally, I'd add "an" to "an ideal viewing posture". |
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 Cerberus™
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 11 Feb 2009
Posts: 1342
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