Wording

[Bazile]

In a paragraph

'' she received a proposal of marriage from xxxxxx ( her late husband ) and they were married .......''

Does 'her late husband ' in the paragraph sound ok - or should it be left out ?

[Jackdaw33]

I would leave it out otherwise the last four words are redundant. I presume there is some further reference to him being deceased.

[sherrardk]

Unless it's mentioned elsewhere in the text, how is the reader to know that xxxxxx is dead?

[fiction-factory]

Depending on the audience I'm not sure you even need to say she received aproposal of marriage- the main point is that she and xxxxxx married. And if they all know xxxxxxx was her husband and know he has since died then I'd leave the late husband biyt out)

[Peter Pedant]

OK in a legal document as it makes it quite clear

literary -I would leave it out - on the grounds of time-shift
and recent taboos about mentioning death
( which is why it sounds odd to you )

[Jackdaw33]

Yes, but if he was her late husband it's bleedin' obvious that they were married.

[fiction-factory]

I wasn't imagining as a legal document, PP- more of an obituary or 100th birthday speech or summat like that (as you might say)

[Jackdaw33]

In that case, as FF suggests, it depends on how it continues.

'' she received a proposal of marriage from xxxxxx ( her late husband ) and they were married on the 4th June 1954". Sounds OK to me.

[Bazile]

thanks all