The Importance of Writing Precisely

Here is a wonderful example that illustrates why it is important to be precise!

Professor Ernest Brennecke of Columbia University demonstrated how the placement of ONE WORD in a sentence can alter the meaning of the sentence completely.

1. ONLY I hit him in the eye yesterday. (No one else did.)
2. I ONLY hit him in the eye yesterday. (Did not slap him.)
3. I hit ONLY him in the eye yesterday. (I did not hit others.)
4. I hit him ONLY in the eye yesterday. (I did not hit outside the eye.)
5. I hit him in ONLY the eye yesterday. (Not other organs.)
6. I hit him in the ONLY eye yesterday. (He doesn’t have another eye.)
7. I hit him in the eye ONLY yesterday. (Not today.)
8. I hit him in the eye yesterday ONLY. (Did not wait for today.)

Need we say more! 🙂

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