Re: Similar vs. Similarly

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 10:41:09 +0000, Mike987 wrote:

>>> "Similarly to the stone cameo of his wife Livia (fig. 2), 
>>> this glass cameo features an image of the head of Augustus 
>>> in total profile."
>>> 
>>> I think it is correct as-is.  My fiance insists that I 
>>> should be using the adjective 'similar'.
>
>Your fiancee is correct.  Similar is qualifying "this glass 
>cameo".  If you rearrange the order of the phrases, you get:
>
>"This glass cameo, similar to the stone cameo of his wife 
>Livia, features an image of the head of Augustus..."
>
>which should make the meaning and grammar clearer.

That was my first thought, but on reflection I have doubts--not 
about the correct word or the recasting, both of which are 
right as given above--but about whether the sentence says what 
is intended.

Both the original and recasting note that the glass cameo is 
like the stone cameo, but it looks to me as if what was wanted 
was a statement emphasizing that the point of similarity is 
their both featuring an image of Augustus's head.

A better casting might be something like:

    This glass cameo, like the stone cameo of his wife Livia 
    (fig. 2), features an image of the head of Augustus in 
    total profile.

Or perhaps better yet:

    This glass cameo features an image of the head of Augustus 
    in total profile, [just] as does the stone cameo of his 
    wife Livia (fig. 2).


-- 
Cordially,
Eric Walker
My opinions on English are available at
http://owlcroft.com/english/