“This British law – I can’t work it out.”
“Why? I think Britain has quite good laws, actually.”
“But isn’t it a bit harsh?”
“Harsh?”
“I mean, capital punishment is bad enough, but …”
“But we don’t have capital punishment!”
“Sure, but that’s even worse.”
“Worse?”
“I think so, trying to pursue people beyond the grave like that.”
“Beyond the grave? What are you on about?”
“This – in The Independent; look what they wrote.”
“More than 100 Britons have been assisted in their suicide in Swiss clinics. Not one has been successfully prosecuted.”
“Oh dear!”
“Exactly! I mean, even if they don’t succeed, it’s still …”
“No, no, this ‘one’ is …”
“Very lucky, if you ask me.”
“No, no, they are notorious.”
“Your authorities – they must be.”
“No, no, pronouns!”
“Pronouns? What have pronouns got to do with anything?”
“Everything: in this sentence, ‘one’ is a pronoun.”
“Of course it is.”
“But a pronoun makes no sense without a noun.”
“Sure.”
“But ‘Britons’ is the wrong noun!”
“Are you saying they meant a different nationality?”
“NO!!! Look, what they were trying to say is this.”
Not one of the helpers has been successfully prosecuted.
“You reckon?”
“Yep.”
“This British law – it’s not too bad, after all.”
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Haha! Just the sort of tale for Halloween – suicides being sued after the fact.
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Yep, I couldn’t stop laughing when I read the offending sentence in The Independent.
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hahaha talk about reading between the lines!!
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Indeed; when one reads British press, one has to do this a lot! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment.
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Reblogged this on Book it and commented:
This displays Grammar in a whole new way! Not boring, but Hilarious! Check it out for yourself!
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Millions of thanks, Maria! I have been researching English usage for decades and have amassed thousands and THOUSANDS of examples – many of them unintentionally hilarious. I do try to entertain my readers and am delighted with every single ‘like’; thanks again. xxx
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Great giggles for a Friday!
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Delighted with the giggles!
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