A Rule We Break Often

rogersgeorge on October 24th, 2023

The rule is that we should put modifiers as close as possible to the word they modify. Rodney follows that rule here, hence the humor; we often break the proximity rule, and I’ll bet you did when you read the comic:

https://www.gocomics.com/wizard-of-id-classics/2023/08/29

After all, “Bart” is closer than “Sir Rodney.”

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Rogers George has been a technical writer for more than 20 years. He has written on subjects as diverse as outhouse assembly, restaurant reviews, software, information security, and scientific equipment. He has his own writing consultancy and is always happy to discuss writing and grammar. Drop him a line at curmudgeon@writing-rag.com.

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