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Rules of good writing (2007)

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103 points santiviquez | 1 comments | 07 Jul 25 14:03 UTC | HN request time: 0.369s | source
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irchans ◴[09 Jul 25 01:43 UTC] No.44505594[source]▶
I believer there is an error in

"Readers comprehend “the boy hit the ball” quicker than “the ball was hit by the boy.” Both sentences mean the same, but it’s easier to imagine the object (the boy) before the action (the hitting). All brains work that way. (Notice I didn’t say, “That is the way all brains work”?)".

It should be, "the SUBJECT (the boy) before the action (the hitting)." (I added caps for emphasis.)

replies(2): >>44505769 #>>44508079 #
1. ahartmetz ◴[09 Jul 25 10:01 UTC] No.44508079[source]▶
Not to mention passive contructions are way overused (oops, I just used one). At least if the sentence mentions the acting subject, an active construction is shorter and less stuffy.