firm believer that

[David A. Daniel]

Well, one could argue that if it took you, an expert on the subject who is
ever on the lookout for such things, five reads to find a possible fault,
then the fault is pretty minor, or even non-existent in general-usage terms.
No?
DAD


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A non-native speaker of English asks me whether the following is
grammatical:

"I'm a firm believer that anyone can have a breakthrough right in her own
backyard."

It's from an essay of Oprah in the current issue of O Magazine.

It took me about five reads before I spotted anything possibly amiss, but "a
firm believer that." definitely appears wrong now that I see it.

I think this must come from a cross of "I'm a firm believer in the idea
that." and  "I firmly believe that."

Is that correct?

Benjamin Barrett
Seattle, WA

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org