So in my daily existence as a copywriter and editor, I am often given drafts that contain a sentence like this:
This construction is, of course, common in conversation and informal use. It’s also, by my understanding of the rules of appositives, wrong, because in this example, the appositive phrase (“as a dedicated traveler”) is technically describing the subject (“we”) when it “wants” to be describing the indirect object (“you”).
(Another approach, different but equally wrong, might go, “As a dedicated traveler, this trip is sure to appeal to you.”)
My question is: how wrong is this, really? Is this one of those cases similar to the singular “they,” where some forward-thinking grammar mavens are bowing to the inevitable? Or is it just plain ol’, flat-out wrong? Normally I scrap or revise these kinds of sentences, but I’m lately wondering if I’m being too rigid and if this kind of construction has become more accepted in formal writing. There is no particularly elegant way to revise the above in order to make it grammatical (“As a dedicated traveler, you are sure to enjoy this special journey” — too passive), so I’m wondering if it’s even worth bothering to salvage it.
FWIW, I didn’t see it as an appositve phrase, since I’ve never seen a prepositional phrase used as an appositive–but maybe it fits. I saw it as a simple prepositional phrase modifying “you” (as noted in the OP). But his/her other points remain. It’s technically incorrect, and even the corrections seem a little awkward and could use some tweaking.
Assuming it was referring to such, it’s not grammatically incorrect but rather is constructed in a confusing manner. My initial assumption was that it should be,
However, if the “traveller” portion is intended to actually refer to “you”, then it needs to be overhauled and the prepositional phrase moved, or the sentence rearranged so that “you” comes first. But yeah, it’s a clumsy construction.
“As a copy editor, I think you should know better than to allow this.”
The above statement makes it sound as though I’m claiming to be a copy editor, but if I am instead addressing you as a copy editor, I’m making the same kind of mistake as the OP’s example. Does this fall under the heading of “misplaced modifier”?
“As a dedicated traveler” is a modifying clause, and the subject which it modifies (you, in this case) must immediately follow the clause. It’s like writing, “While driving along the sea, a whale emerged its tail.” The whale was not driving.
I forgot already (someone answered me in a different thread): the Internet law that in every grammar or spelling correction a new one will be introduced.
Let’s take a grammatically correct sentence:
We are delighted to offer you – because you are a dedicated traveler – this special journey. Maybe not that elegant, but it’s ok. Now, invert the phrase you want to emphasize:
Because you are a dedicated traveler, we are delighted to offer you this special journey.
Again, it’s perfectly fine. Now let’s take a parallel construction:
We are delighted to offer you, as a dedicated traveler, this special journey.
A fine appositive. Now invert the phrase you want to emphasize:
As a dedicated traveler, we are delighted to offer you this special journey.
So, this should be a valid construction. And in many situations, it flies. But here, it introduces confusion over what the phrase is modifying. So, it fails for clarity, not because the construction is inherently bad.
As intelligent grammarians, I’m sure you all will agree.
It’s a prepositional phrase, and I can find no references to preopositional phrases being denoted as “appositives.” (And it doesn’t have the structure of an oblique appositive.) Take out the “as”, and I agree 100%.