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Is the convention you used for a/an in "a (n increasingly long) while back" common? As soon as I saw it, I wondered how I had ever handled the scenario but not
by whtrbt 12y ago
Is the convention you used for a/an in "a (n increasingly long) while back" common?
As soon as I saw it, I wondered how I had ever handled the scenario but nothing came to mind. Perhaps I just ignored it and would have written "a (increasingly long) while back".
- ashark 12y agoI've seen it before, so I can't claim credit for inventing it. Not sure how common it is. Situations where it may be employed are unusual so even if everyone always used that construction when possible, it would be rare. I don't like that part of my post, on reflection. Complexity to no real purpose, and the words miss the meaning I intended. Obviously it's increasingly long ago. Sloppy writing.
- whtrbt 12y agoI didn't even realise it was redundant until you pointed that out. I got what you meant.
- lobster_johnson 12y ago"An (increasingly long) while back" is more grammatically correct because the paranthesis is not a separate sentence; it's part of the grammar structure of the sentence as a whole.
- whtrbt 12y agoYes, that way of writing it is actually the least disruptive to my reading.
- nl 12y agoAs an aside, it's pretty rare that something a while back isn't also an increasingly long while back.