Re: syntax

[Bernard Cleyet <anngeorg@PACBELL.NET>]

would understanding been greater if the question wrote  ".... putty stuck to one
of the cars."?

bc  who uses the hyphen if it aids comprehension.    e.g. a parked moving van is
either a type of van or an oxymoron and therefore, "OK.", otherwise moving-van
may be appropriate.


Jack MacLeod wrote:

> Reminds me of a provincial exam here in Nova Scotia that in a collision
> question indicated that there was putty stuck on one of the cars.  When
> we marked the question students all over the province asked what "putty
> stuck" was!
>
> Jack MacLeod
> Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
>
> John Clement wrote:
> > Good point.  However my American Heritage Dictionary uses moving van.  I
> > doubt the hyphen would have changed the result.  The real problem is the
> > phrase "parked moving van".  It can only be interpreted as being something
> > standing still with the word moving being a qualifier as to the type of van.
> >
> > John M. Clement
> > Houston, TX
> >
> > > PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu writes:
> > > > what a moving van is,
> > >
> > > I also weep for what "they" don't know but is a moving van different from
> > > a moving-van?
> > >
> > > Ken Fox