Relative clause
Hi, everyone

Which of THESE sentences is better?

"The transcripts of conversations between the subject child and their family were read through at least once, and all utterances were selected that contained any one of the target prepositions of this study."

or

"The transcripts of conversations between the subject child and their family were read through at least once, and all utterances that contained any one of the target prepositions of this study were selected."

Thank you!

Question

Relative clause
Hi, everyone

Which of THESE sentences is better?

"The transcripts of conversations between the subject child and their family were read through at least once, and all utterances were selected that contained any one of the target prepositions of this study."

or

"The transcripts of conversations between the subject child and their family were read through at least once, and all utterances that contained any one of the target prepositions of this study were selected."

Thank you!

Answer

The second one makes more sense. You should be putting a clause that starts with “that” as close to the thing that it describes as possible.

The first one makes sense but does not sound as natural. It may be a bit confusing for some when they read it for the first time.

Answer

Though it might depend on what sentences come before this one, personally, I understood the second sentence better!

Answers · 2

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