does this make sense?

[crisgal]

"they took the short cut every day, as well as taking less time, it was pleasanter than walking by the roadside"

[Schutzengel]

Hi Crisgal. Don't really know about the correctness of the sentence, but I would have put -

"They took the short cut every day, as it took less time, and was more pleasant than walking along the road".

What do you think? Schutz.

[swedeheart]

Yeah you should change it somehow; the way it's worded now, it's confusing, albeit just for a fraction of a second but that's still a stumbling block the reader shouldn't have to deal with:

As you have just written "they took the short cut", well, when the same verb appears for the second time ("as well as taking less time") the reading mind is at first sight lured into thinking that "they" are taking something else too, not just the short cut. But this time it isn't "they" who are "taking" something, it's "it" that's doing the taking, as it were ("it took less time"). Which we naturally understand eventually, but, again, it's an unnecessary stumbling block.

Schutzengel's suggestion sounds fine to my foreigner ears ;-)

[Schutzengel]

Sorry to chip in - Swedeheart not heard from you for a while, are you ok.

[ll_billym]

Gramatically there is nothing wrong with that sentence however the word "pleasanter" is not really used nowadays so it looks "wrong" to most people. Personally I would use "more pleasant" instead.

[crisgal]

i didn't write it!

It's from a book I'm reading. I've never heard the word "pleasanter" before, and had to re-read the sentence my self.
Just wondered.

Thanks guys

[swedeheart]

Hi Schutz (sorry crisgal, we are friendly hijackers really, just stay calm and we will soon leave this thread:-) thanks for asking. I'm around, just not all that much in Animals&Nature, but if you noticed the mewspaper editor's Slave's moggie-genetic thread a few days ago? I've been spending some time there recently:-) Hope you're okay, and that Frankie and Felix are too?

[crisgal]

sorry swedeheart - haven't a clue what yer on about!

Are you confusing me with someone else? Drisgirl perhaps?

[swedeheart]

No. I was apologising to you for me and Schutzengel hijacking your thread (this one) by starting to talk about things that aren't related to this thread. Schutz was asking me how I am and where I've been hiding and I was responding to her, at the same time feeling a bit guilty about chatting on your thread.

[jno]

I would also have said 'more pleasant' rather than 'pleasanter' - it's not wrong, it just sounds a bit clumsy (to me). I would also have used a full stop or a dash instead of just a comma after 'day'.

[NiceCupOfTea]

I quite like the word, actually. I personally would have put a full stop after 'every day' but anyway.

[Quizmonster]

The main thing wrong with it as it stands is the fact that the comma after day is not sufficiently 'strong'. In other words, you have what are effectively two sentences rammed into one. A semi-colon at least is required there, if not a full stop...the choice is yours. This would answer the points raised above regarding the duplication of the verb take. Alternatively, you might write used instead of took at the beginning.
Of course, it also needs an opening capital letter and a full stop after roadside and, personally, I would write more pleasant rather than pleasanter.
So...

They used the short cut every day. As well as taking less time, it was more pleasant than walking by the roadside.

[Quizmonster]

I have no idea what happened above. When I opened the thread, there were only three responses. Then, when I went to check that my own reply had appeared, there were loads of them!
My apologies, therefore, for any duplications of others' efforts.

[jno]

maybe your computer filters out thread hijacks, Quizmonster? Nice work if you can get it!

[crisgal]

hi QM - I thought you might drop by! :)

[coccinelle]

It's definitely more pleasant.
The rule is if an adjective has one syllable or two ending in a -y (pretty) we can add -er. If not, we use 'more'.

[jno]

the 'rules' are pretty much as coccinelle says but 'pleasant' is an exception that can go either way, along with quiet, narrow and some others.

http://www.onestopenglish.com/section.asp?doci d=144846

As I said, I personally think pleasanter sounds a bit of a mouthful, but it's not wrong.

[coccinelle]

Thank you jno

I wasn't aware of all these exceptions and wondered if they were grammatically wrong even if we say them, so I've learnt something new!

[jno]

I wouldn't worry about it, coccinelle - there aren't really 'rules', just conventions; there aren't any language police (unlike in France), and you're free to say what you like. I just go by what sounds right - 'pleasanter' sounds clumsy to me, and so does 'more quiet'; but that's just me (and crisgal, by the sound of it); I'd never complain if anyone else used them. The language is so vast and complicated there are probably exceptions to every known rule.