A mixture of jazz and classical idioms, the music of Gershwin was more innovative than most of his contemporaries.
Can somebody tell me what's wrong with this sentence and why? I don't understand. :(
music . . . more innovate than . . . contemporaries
A better way: . . . more innovative than THAT of most of his contemporaries.
When you say "more innnovative than his contemporaries" you are cocmparing the music TO the contemporaries. In reality, you are comparing Gershwin's MUSIC to contemporaries' MUSIC. Or, in otherwords not a thing to a person but a thing to a thing.
Sra
Well, it seems like the sentence is trying to say that Gershwin's music was more innovative than the music of his contemporaries. However, the use of the word "idioms" might be a bit confusing here. "Idioms" typically refers to specific phrases or expressions that have a figurative meaning, rather than musical styles or genres. So, a more accurate way to phrase it could be something like: "A mixture of jazz and classical influences, Gershwin's music was more innovative than that of most of his contemporaries." This way, it clarifies that Gershwin drew from both jazz and classical music, and his work was seen as more groundbreaking than what his peers were doing.
The sentence you provided is grammatically correct, and there does not appear to be any obvious errors. It correctly states that the music of Gershwin combined elements of jazz and classical styles, and it suggests that his music was more innovative compared to his contemporaries.
If you are looking for potential areas of improvement or clarification, it could be helpful to provide more specific information or examples to support the claim that Gershwin's music was more innovative. Additionally, it is worth noting that this sentence is a subjective statement, as the level of innovation can vary depending on individual perspectives and opinions.
The sentence you provided, "A mixture of jazz and classical idioms, the music of Gershwin was more innovative than most of his contemporaries," is technically correct grammatically. However, there is a potential problem of clarity or ambiguity.
The issue lies with the placement of the introductory phrase "A mixture of jazz and classical idioms." In this sentence, it is being used as a misplaced modifier. Misplaced modifiers can cause confusion because they are not positioned close enough to the word or phrase they modify.
To improve clarity, you can try rephrasing the sentence to reposition the modifier closer to the word it modifies. For example, you could say, "The music of Gershwin, which combined jazz and classical idioms, was more innovative than that of most of his contemporaries."
By placing the modifier closer to "The music of Gershwin," it becomes clearer that it is specifically the music that is the subject of the sentence and not the mixture of jazz and classical idioms themselves.
Remember, it's important to consider clarity in your writing to ensure that your intended meaning is effectively conveyed to your readers.