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A comment on How to Write in Plain English. Parent comment

Re:How to Write in Plain English by dgellow on Tuesday August 25, 2020 @08:26AM (#24270608)
I have in mind an idea for a movie scenario where someone important is on their death bed and says their last words, and nobody can tell what they actually meant because it may be missing the second part of the verb, resulting in a potentially completely different meaning :)
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Re:How to Write in Plain English by ThePadawan on Tuesday August 25, 2020 @09:23AM (#24271051)
"Was ist der Unterschied zwischen einem Raben und einem Schreibtisch"?

As you mention, it gets even screwier given the opportunity to put a "nicht" (not) at the very end of a sentence to lead listeners down a garden path.

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Re:How to Write in Plain English by c22 on Tuesday August 25, 2020 @12:50PM (#24273319)
You can do the same thing in English but it's pretty obnoxious.
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Re:How to Write in Plain English by ThePadawan on Tuesday August 25, 2020 @03:46PM (#24275266)
Yes, but the grammar doesn't lend itself to it quite as nicely (any more, compared to earlier forms of English, IIRC).

In German, the word order "I believe you not" is the proper way to phrase that sentiment, without being pithy about it.

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