# Is this a sentence? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 24, 2017, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336 "2017-05-24T12:35:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/1 "2017-05-24T12:35:31Z")
A local newspaper offers a survey in order to continue reading the article. The sentence on top of a few checkable options is this: **"If a company offered these customer care solutions on their website, which would you prefer assuming each was equally capable of providing a resolution to your issue?"** Does that make any sense? FWIW, the options are: Self Help tools, video chat, email, faq, and chat. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/2 "2017-05-24T12:38:26Z")
It’s poorly written but I understand what they’re asking. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/3 "2017-05-24T12:38:59Z")
Makes sense to me, although I’d put a comma after “prefer” for clarity, and optionally change the “was” to a “were”. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/4 "2017-05-24T13:29:44Z")
I never read those survey questions. I just click any old answer to get to the article I wish to read. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/5 "2017-05-24T14:06:34Z")
Yes, it’s a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/6 "2017-05-24T14:29:07Z")
I like the Spanish tradition of bracketing a question with ¿…? which can even be a part of a sentence rather than the whole sentence. It makes more sense sometimes. If this were punctuated like that, it might read: “If a company offered these customer care solutions on their website, ¿which would you prefer? assuming each was equally capable of providing a resolution to your issue.” ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/7 "2017-05-24T16:06:58Z")
Yes, it’s a sentence, but needs a comma after “prefer”. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/8 "2017-05-24T16:09:38Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Makes sense to me, although I’d put a comma after “prefer” for clarity, and optionally change the “was” to a “were”. Seconded. The comma, in particular, is key. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/9 "2017-05-24T16:43:35Z")
A sentence has a subject and verb (at minimum). Subject: “which” Verb: “would prefer” It’s a sentence. Maybe not a good one, but still a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/10 "2017-05-24T17:02:16Z")
It looks like “these” is functioning as a pronoun with no antecedent. I would write this one of two ways: 1. If a company offered the following customer care solutions on its website, which would you prefer (assuming each was equally capable of resolving your issue): self-help tools, video chat, email, FAQ, or chat? 1. Assuming that each was equally capable of resolving your issue, which of the following customer care solutions would you prefer on a company’s website: self-help tools, video chat, email, FAQ or chat? I can actually think of even better options that stray very far from the original, but those are the best I can come up with using the original as a model. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/11 "2017-05-24T17:40:37Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Makes sense to me, although I’d put a comma after “prefer” for clarity, and optionally change the “was” to a “were”. “Were” would imply that it was a condition contrary to fact: that each is NOT equally capable of resolving your issue (though the reader is being asked to imagine what it would be like if they were). “Was” allows that it may or may not be the actual case that each is equally capable of resolving your issue (though we are assuming they are for the sake of argument). ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/12 "2017-05-24T18:08:09Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > A sentence has a subject and verb (at minimum). > > Subject: “which” > Verb: “would prefer” > > It’s a sentence. Maybe not a good one, but still a sentence. LOL “Which” is not the subject. This is a compound sentence, so there’s lots of subjects and verbs, which is why the commas are necessary. Let’s diagram it out, shall we? “**If a company [subject] offered** [verb] **these [pronoun] customer care [adjectives] solutions** [object] **on** [preposition] **their** [pronoun] **website** [object], \*\*which \*\*[pronoun] **would** [modal verb, goes with ‘prefer’] **you** [subject] **prefer** [verb] **assuming** [gerund] **each** [subject] \*\*was **[verb]** equally \*\*[adverb] **capable** [verb] \*\*of **[preposition] providing [gerund] a [article]** resolution \*\*[object] to [preposition] **your** [pronoun] **issue** [noun]?” ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/13 "2017-05-24T18:13:28Z")
The preferred answer I give which is as follows yes in response to that query posed. Understand do I the meaning intended by the writer. Careful he must be, though, to confuse not his audience with poor sentence structure and punctuation. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/14 "2017-05-24T18:25:25Z")
Honestly, I don’t find the sentence confusing at all. The only problem is that the last clause, beginning with the word “assuming,” should be set off with a comma or parentheses. If that were the case, would you still all find it hard to read? ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/15 "2017-05-24T23:32:41Z")
I had to read it a few times before I got it, but it is a sentence.i would put a comma after prefer. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/16 "2017-05-25T03:43:34Z")
It is a sentence. I would put parentheses around everything after “prefer” (except the period). ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/18 "2017-05-25T04:27:24Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > LOL > “Which” is not the subject. This is a compound sentence, so there’s lots of subjects and verbs, which is why the commas are necessary. > > Let’s diagram it out, shall we? > > “**If a company [subject] offered** [verb] **these [pronoun] customer care [adjectives] solutions** [object] **on** [preposition] **their** [pronoun] **website** [object], \*\*which \*\*[pronoun] **would** [modal verb, goes with ‘prefer’] **you** [subject] **prefer** [verb] **assuming** [gerund] **each** [subject] \*\*was **[verb]** equally \*\*[adverb] **capable** [verb] \*\*of **[preposition] providing [gerund] a [article]** resolution \*\*[object] to [preposition] **your** [pronoun] **issue** [noun]?” dependent clause 1: conjunction - if Subject - a company Verb - offered object - these customer care solutions Main clause: subject - you verb - would (aux verb) prefer (infinitive) object - which Dependent clause 2: conjunction - assuming (triggers the subjunctive) subject - each verb - was (could use ‘were’ but lots of people don’t) predicate (or whatever you want to call this) - capable of … your issue (you could swap this whole phrase for the single word ‘effective’) ‘capable’ is an adjective if ‘providing’ is a gerund (i.e. a noun) it cannot take an object. It looks like you want to say: subject - each verb - was capable of providing object - a resolution … issue which is also appealing, but I don’t think it’s correct. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/19 "2017-05-26T22:43:07Z")
“Let’s eat Grandma!” “Let’s eat, Grandma!” Punctuation saves lives. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/20 "2017-05-27T18:10:41Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > LOL > “Which” is not the subject. This is a compound sentence, so there’s lots of subjects and verbs, which is why the commas are necessary. > > Let’s diagram it out, shall we? > > “**If a company [subject] offered** [verb] **these [pronoun] customer care [adjectives] solutions** [object] **on** [preposition] **their** [pronoun] **website** [object], \*\*which \*\*[pronoun] **would** [modal verb, goes with ‘prefer’] **you** [subject] **prefer** [verb] **assuming** [gerund] **each** [subject] \*\*was **[verb]** equally \*\*[adverb] **capable** [verb] \*\*of **[preposition] providing [gerund] a [article]** resolution \*\*[object] to [preposition] **your** [pronoun] **issue** [noun]?” No, **RealityChuck** is correct about “which” being the subject. Everything in the sentence before that is an adjective clause modifying “which.” ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336/21 "2017-05-27T22:37:00Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > **“If a company offered these customer care solutions on their website, which would you prefer assuming each was equally capable of providing a resolution to your issue?”** **“If a company’s website offered these customer care solutions, which would you prefer, assuming each was equally capable of resolving your issue?”** Needless words omitted. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-sentence/787336.md?page=2)