tersest proscription of the week (was PSAT Glitch)

[Arnold Zwicky]

from Ruth Parle' Craig & Vincent F. Hopper, Barron's 1001 Pitfalls
in English Grammar (3rd ed.) (Hauppage NY: Barron's, 1986), p. 29,
at the end of the four pitfalls having to do with the reference of
pronouns (ambiguous reference, remote reference, indefinite reference,
and...):

 PITFALL: avoid reference to a noun in the possessive case

 However clear such reference may be, usage of this kind constitutes
 slovenly English.

that's it.  that's the whole thing.  and the illustration is:

 EXAMPLE: Goethe's _Faust_ has been called the epic of modern man.
   _He_ was particularly fitted to write such an epic because of
   his extraordinarily broad experiences.

 SOLUTION: Goethe's _Faust_ has been called the epic of modern man.
   _Goethe_ was particularly...

context, context!  we need context!  is this about Faust stories,
or about Goethe?  it makes a big difference.

but...  just say no!  it's "slovenly English".  slovenly, slovenly
New York Times.  slovenly, slovenly New Yorker [message to follow].

this was one of four new manuals i checked today.  the others didn't
inveigh against possessive antecedents.  one, however, had a priceless
correction.  this is Michael Strumpf & Auriel Douglas, The Grammar
Bible (Los Angeles: Knowledgeopolis, 1999), pp. 213-4, where we start
(under the "vague antecedent" heading) with
  Bob gave his father his pocketknife.  ["his" in boldface]
for which rewordings are suggested to bring out one or the other of
the interpretations:
  (1) Bob returned his father's pocketknife to his father.
[why not "to him"?  is this the possessive antecedent thing? and how
did giving become the more specific returning?]
  (2) Bob loaned his father Bob's pocketknife.
even putting aside the "loan"/"lend" business, this is really awkward.
with just a little bit of context,
  Bob gave his pocketknife to his father.
should do just fine, especially given a preference for anaphora over
cataphora.  the whole discussion is remarkably tin-eared - and it
comes from someone who manages "The National Grammar Hot Line".

phooey.

arnold (csli.stanford.edu)