Talk:Marcel Jeannin

Grammar review
Please pardon the length. I hate to belabor what should be a simple grammatical point, but I don't know how else to justify my revisions (1st here and 2nd here) except by being thorough.

I found the following sentence ungrammatical for its intended meaning: "Marcel Jeannin is a Canadian actor, cartoon and video game voice actor."

Because only one "AND" was used, the only grammatical parsing of this sentence is that there are 3 nouns: Marcel Jeannin is a Canadian  ,   AND    .

The construction above forces "cartoon" to serve as a noun. So the sentence - if it's grammatical - actually says that the man is 3 nouns: an actor, a cartoon AND a voice actor. Because of this I revised it.

For "cartoon" to serve here as an adjective that modifies "voice actor" (in the same way that "video game" is used), there are two main options:

1. Give "cartoon" its own noun to modify, making a series of 3 nouns. Marcel is an actor, cartoon voice actor AND video game voice actor. Marcel is an  ,   AND   

In a series of 3 nouns, an "AND" is needed only between the second and third nouns.

2. Since   and   are the same, some may prefer to use only 2 nouns, but the "AND" (or a synonym) must always be properly placed. To help understand this, start with a base version of the sentence without adjectives. Marcel is an actor AND voice actor. (My first revision was along this line.) Marcel is an   AND  .

If we wish to modify "voice actor" with an adjective (or adjective phrase), we add it after the "and". Marcel is an actor AND   voice actor. Marcel is an actor AND cartoon voice actor. If we wish to put 2 adjectives for "voice actor", both must come after the "and". Marcel is an actor AND   and   voice actor. Marcel is an actor AND cartoon and video game voice actor. Marcel is an actor AS WELL AS a voice actor for cartoons and video games. (This was my 2nd attempt.)

These may be further rephrased/improved, but always sticking to the above syntax for grammatically-correct sentences. In all cases, the "AND" cannot be replaced by a comma and remain grammatical. Needless to say, an ungrammatical sentence - even if we can grasp its intended meaning despite the error - is not a substitute in this wiki for saying things grammatically. Thanks. --Mercury McKinnon (talk) 19:36, September 14, 2012 (UTC)