Improper Elision
I'm feeling annoyed by the Lions' win, so I'm posting this, though I've let it go in the past.
"It" is the common warning spoken in all these prescription drug commercials, like the one Dr Robert Jarvik was just this moment in for Lipitor, which
is not for everyone. It's not for women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant.Are nursing. Check.
Are pregnant. Check.
Are may become pregnant? Not quite.
This needs to be fixed by saying either "are pregnant" or "who may become" - the way it stands now, it's an infelicitous error that mildly annoys me every time I hear it.
Dr Jarvik, blame Paul McCallum.
3 Comments:
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At 9:05 AM, November 20, 2006
Barry Leiba had this to say...
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At 9:08 AM, November 20, 2006
Barry Leiba had this to say...
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At 9:28 AM, November 20, 2006
The Ridger, FCD had this to say...
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<-- Older Post ^ Home Newer Post -->I don't think adding "who" fixes it. I think one also needs to add an "or", thus (added "or" in bold):
"[...] is not for women who are nursing or pregnant, or who may become pregnant."
P.S. The "or may become pregnant" part also seems to be pretty moronic, since it's essentially a catch-all that covers most women of child-bearing age. It's essentially saying that unless you're completely abstinent or post-menopausal, you'd better not take this stuff.
You're right - I wrote too quickly; any fix other than repeating "who" in all the phrases needs another "or".
But it's not moronic: it's a safeguard againt lawsuits. Hard to tell the difference, I know, but in a culture as litigious as ours it's probably necessary.
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