Competent Writing Skills (was Re: teacher rants)

[Paul Mackin]

The text in question: (non pynchonian)

> >> "Summer afternoons when the tar bubbles bloom in the road wild daisies
> >> beckon girls to seek petal fortunes and weave chains of fragrant dreams."

Joe sez:
 How does "summer afternoons" function in
> this sentence?  Doesn't it need a predicate or a preposition? 

I say: Summer afternoons is an adverb or adverbial phrase. Doesn't
really need a proposition or verbal.

Joe sez: I'm waiting to find out
> what the "summer afternoons" are doing.

I say: they're modifying 'wild daisies beckon.' Telling WHEN
the action occurs.

Joe sez:
> The comma before "when" *might* be optional, but I think that it
> is essential after "road".  

I say: Either surround the clause with commas of omit them entirely.
In this case, one comma is like one parenthesis. LISP programmers will
be particularly sensitive to such infractions.

Also, 'Petal fortunes' should probably be hyphenated.

Hope this is taken as good clean fun.

			P.