I recently read the following sentence:
He helped normalize relations between the US and Vietnam and Laos.
Assuming Vietnam and Laos already had normal relations with each other (which they might not have, but that’s another question), how would one write this sentence less awkwardly, or is this the best way to write it briefly? I’d like to have the implication that the US had a similar relationship with Vietnam and Laos. If the numbers on either side were different, I would have no problems. Should a comma go after “US”?
Apologies if this has been asked, but I don’t know how to phrase it searchably.
Answer
Try reading it aloud and seeing whether any pause in your voice can disambiguate this. This isn’t going to be a place where careful commas are likely to help you.
You have to somehow separate the things that are not meant to cluster together from those that are. For example:
- He helped normalize US relations with Vietnam and Laos.
- He helped normalize bilateral relations between the US on one side and Vietnam and Laos on the other.
Those are now clear whether written or spoken.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Rusty , Answer Author : tchrist
