Parenthesis/parenthetical clause

Linking what we have learnt to what we see will help us to understand things better.















I remember vividly when I was in school during an English lesson, a question was posted to the class when the whole class gave the wrong answer.

The question was, "Is there anything wrong with the sentence: We feed children whom we think are hungry?"

The whole class considered the sentence correct; and that was a wrong answer.

The sentence should be "We feed children who we think are hungry." In giving such answer, the teacher has explained that 'we think' in the sentence is a parenthesis or a parenthetical clause which has no grammatical function and is there for clarity sake. Such parenthesis or parenthetical clause can be taken out of the sentence without affecting its actual meaning.

Recently, I have seen a sentence of similar construction in a column (designated to promote the correct use of English) of a popular national English daily - It means “Where is that boy whom I think is an idiot?”

I have written an e-mail to the editor of the column asking, "Shouldn't the sentence be:It means “Where is that boy who I think is an idiot?”

I have not received any reply from the editor and have to take it that silence means consent.

Be careful of reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
-- Mark Twain