Question on phrasing...

[ellid]

I know there are some English teachers/grammarians on this list, so I have a question:

A blogger recently listed various political initiatives that took place in 2008. Among the entries was this one:

* Failed efforts to get...[an] anti-gay initiative on the ballot [in]Massachusetts.

This blogger was referring to last year's vote in the state legislature blocking a ballot initiative on gay marriage. The initiative would have been on the 2008 ballot, but the vote took place in 2007.

The question is this: the vote took place in 2007 to block a ballot question that would have been up in 2008. Clearly the ballot question never came up for a vote because it was voted down last year...but since it *would* have taken place this year if the legislature had approved it, should it count as a 2008 event or 2007?

I say it's a 2007 event, and said so in a comment on the blogger's site. He says no, it counts for 2008 because the vote would have taken place this year.

Which of us is right?

Comments

[kaiz.livejournal.com]

I'm not an English teacher or anything, but...imo, it seems to me that the subject of his sentence is "Failed efforts" which refers to an event that happened in 2007, therefore I'd say that you are right and he's wrong. If the initiative had made it to the ballot and then the vote had failed, then he'd be right.

[fitzw.livejournal.com]

I agree. A way to make it work as for 2008 would be to rephrase along the lines "An anti-gay initiative did not appear on the 2008 ballot in Massachusetts, due to failed efforts in 2007."

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I was almost certain I was right but wanted to be sure.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

*nods* That's what I'd thought. I thought at first I was going crazy since I hadn't heard anything about *another* initiative, especially since the earliest it could get on the ballot was four years from now....

[semyaza.livejournal.com]

*chimes in with agreement*