[Editors] a word use question

[Melanie M. Kaufman]

I like Ezra's with one change. Reason: "on demand" should be closer to the verb since (I assume) the fact that the shifting is on demand may be more important than the different ways in which it can shift. Also can you do a colon then instead of a hyphen since it's now a list of the spaces?

Shifting from asphalt to grass to photovoltaic cells, spaces can be dynamically reconfigured on demand - from city-street to park to energy
source.

Or perhaps it's just too much info for one sentence:
Shifting from asphalt to grass to photovoltaic cells, spaces can be dynamically reconfigured on demand. A city street can turn into a park that becomes an energy source, and vice-versa.

I love grammar.

_________________________
Melanie Miller Kaufman
Communications and Development

Department of Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
T 617.253.6500, E melmils[at]mit.edu
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From: editors-bounces at MIT.EDU [mailto:editors-bounces at MIT.EDU] On Behalf Of Denis Paiste
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2014 4:02 PM
To: William T. G. Litant
Cc: MIT Editors
Subject: Re: [Editors] a word use question

Many interesting proposals here. While agree among is the grammatically correct choice, I also think rewording is better.
How about:

Spaces can shift on demand from city street to park to energy source alternately configured with asphalt, grass or photovoltaic cells.

(Kind of line reconfiguring the Garden from ice rink to basketball court?)

-- Denis Paiste
Science Writer
Materials Processing Center
http://mpc-web.mit.edu<http://mpc-web.mit.edu/>
MIT
77 Massachusetts Ave., Room 12-007
Cambridge, Mass. 02139
617-253-4963

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On Mar 4, 2014, at 3:53 PM, William T. G. Litant <wlitant at MIT.EDU<mailto:wlitant at MIT.EDU>> wrote:


And I haven't used a double-hyphen since the ribbon on my Underwood No. 5 wore out. ;)



On Mar 4, 2014, at 3:49 PM, David L Chandler <dlc1 at MIT.EDU<mailto:dlc1 at MIT.EDU>> wrote:

I like Ezra's rewriting of the sentence better than mine. But I vigorously dispute that use of a hyphen, which seems just wrong. (I think compound-noun is wrong too).


On Mar 4, 2014, at 3:33 PM, Ezra Haber Glenn wrote:



As usual when encountering a tricky usage question, I would try to
avoid the issue by rewriting as:

Shifting from asphalt to grass to photovoltaic cells, spaces can be
dynamically reconfigured -- from city-street to park to energy
source -- on demand.

(Also, note the introduction of the hyphen in "city-street" --
although not everyone agrees on this point, I think it is important,
since the noun city is being used as an adjective as part of a
compound-noun.)

--Ezra

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