Arnold Zwicky's Blog

From a public service announcement on television about the closing of the Golden Gate Bridge this weekend:

(1) The bridge is closing to install a moveable median barrier

I wasn’t entirely comfortable with this wording, which sounded danglerish to me (though its intent is clear). The version on the bridge’s site uses a subjectless nominalization (which is impeccable) rather than a subjectless purpose adjunct:

(2) Jan. 10-11, Golden Gate Bridge CLOSED for Installation of Moveable Median Barrier

My speculation is that subjectless purpose adjuncts (at least the sentence-final ones) are less obtrusive when they are more telegraphic in form, especially when they are framed as headlines; the idea is that readers are accustomed to supplying omitted material in headlines.

Two Golden Gate headlines with subjectless adjuncts:

(3) Golden Gate Bridge closing to install new collision barrier (link)

(4) Golden Gate Bridge closes to install moveable barrier that will prevent head-on crashes (link)

In the accompanying stories, other purpose constructions (with explicit subjects) are used:

(3′) The Golden Gate Bridge will shut down to private vehicles for 52 hours starting at midnight Friday so workers can install a moveable median barrier designed to prevent head-on collisions [so-clause]

(4′) Golden Gate Bridge shut down to private vehicles early Saturday so workers can install a moveable median barrier designed to prevent head-on collisions [so-clause]

But there’s at least one other case like (1), with a subjectless purpose adjunct in ordinary text:

(5) The Golden Gate Bridge will close over the January 10-11, 2015, weekend to install a moveable median barrier. (link)

And of course there are cases with no subjectless adjunct in either head or body:

(6) GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE CLOSING JAN. 10 FOR MEDIAN BARRIER INSTALLATION [nominalization]

The Golden Gate Bridge will be closed for 52 hours starting January 10 at 12:01 a.m. to 4 a.m. January 12, so crews can install a moveable median barrier to help prevent head on collisions. [so-clause] (link)

In any case, my qualms about (1) (and (5)) are slight.

This entry was posted on January 10, 2015 at 7:32 am and is filed under Headlines, Modifiers, Syntax. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.