Pretty much the title.
When writing a description, which way is proper?
- to the northwest corner of the tract described herein
- to the northwest corner of the tract herein described
People may have preferences, but I don't see any possible misinterpretation, which is what is important.
Either is clear, but you upset the pedants by splitting the verb when you insert a herein.
I always try and write anything so that there isn't a distraction for those who can be diverted easily (or easily diverted!!)
@chris-mills huh? Explain it like I'm 5. Its 4 in the morning and I'm a bit dense.?ÿ
@arctanx?ÿ
Must be a regional/national thing.?ÿ Not so much in the UK, I guess
Adverbs of place usually go after the verb
Herein is an adverb that applies to the verb "described" to tell where.?ÿ
We often find adverbs before or after other verbs, as in: "He slowly walked away" versus "He walked slowly away."
Herein is most commonly used in scholarly writing to refer to facts of a situation immediately preceding it in the discussion, but in this context it is often used to refer to words anywhere in the document.
Edit: James has a good point. You wouldn't say "He away walked" unless you are Yoda.
more particularly described; described more particularly
I prefer the former
Either works
?ÿ
I use "described herein" because it feels "smoother" to me when saying out loud plus it's what is most commonly used in this region of Texas.
@arctanx?ÿ
You shouldn't be up reading SurveyorConnect at 4 in the morning!
In any case, in this civilised part of the world it was nearly 9 am. (Pedants note: there are also other parts of the world which could be classified as civilised, so don't take offence).
Bill93's point highlights the difficulty when you have more than one adverb applying to the same verb. He could have included a further example "He walked away slowly" - the important part of the walk was the direction - "away", with the subsidiary description that the action was done"slowly". "He walked slowly away" implies that the most noticable part of the walking was the speed, the direction being ancillary.
These may be nuances, but if you ever have to write professional reports which are going to Court, then getting the nuances right is very important. No matter how many times I re-read something there is always the odd word or two which needs a tweak. That's why lawyers get paid so much.
(And no, I haven't re-read this, so feel free to have a go at me - it's all good for transatlantic relations).
Hmmm ... I was thinking that in this useage, the word "described" is an adjective, since it modifies the noun "tract". As in "the wooded tract".
English was my least favorite subject in school, so I won't insist on this interpretation.
Adjectives almost always go ahead of their nouns in English.?ÿ It would sound strange to say 'The house brick stood solid against the wind.'
And I don't know?ÿ how to complete this fragment without using 'described' as a verb.
Please forgive the heathens who have stolen away the colonies in North America and expanded greatly.
We choose to refrain from using the English spelling for numerous terms and applying different rules of grammar as a form of long-lasting revolt against the Crown.
civilized, not civilised
offense, not offence
Please note this writer has more than one-eighth ancestry from your chosen land mass.?ÿ My mother found that she spoke a bit differently from her friends in her youth.?ÿ She attributed to learning this from her mother whose mother was full English and a bit to her father whose paternal ancestors came from Wales.
?ÿ
Yes, one of the basic realities that I (sometimes) yell at fellow surveyors is: Who do write descriptions for? Answer: For the clear and unequivocal transfer of rights to land that will be will be used by a lot of people who aren't you (a professional surveyor).