[freedom moose]

OK grammar Freepers
Here are two questions that come up when I discuss English with friends:

If you were speaking you might say "People who post on Free Republic's idea of a good conservative candidate is..."
Now I know this is wrong, but it sounds OK if you're used to listening to (lazy) spoken English. But how can you say it correctly and make it not sound ridiculous? "The idea of a good conservative candidate of people how post on Free Republic is...." just doesn't sound right to me and the "of" makes it sound like a translation from a latin language to me "the friend of my sister" instead of "my sister's friend" is a common mistake here for English students.

OK, next question:
Making noise all night at the computer, I kept my wife awake.

The first part is called? A gerund phrase? I think I made that up, so what is it?

[rhema]

Making noise all night at the computer, I kept my wife awake.

It's a participial phrase. Participles belong to a class called "verbals," and they're always used as adjectives.

I don't know if that first example is necessarily wrong. We could always write FreeRepublic posters' idea . . .

[Rastus]

I'd probably type, "For many posters on Free Republic, the idea of a good conservative candidate is. . . ."

[Yaelle]

"Free Republic posters' idea of a good candidate" would work and be less clumsy.

[ReignOfError]

"Free Republic posters' idea of a good candidate is ..."