Should prepositions be repeated while joining multiple prepositional phrases?

Question

1.Results indicated positive paths from A to B, B to C, and C to A and B.

2.Results indicated positive paths from A to B, from B to C, and from C to A and B.

Which of the above sentences is considered grammatically correct? Is it necessary to repeat "from" after the comma and/or the conjunction "and"?

I'd like to know what would be considered correct in American English, if it makes any difference.

They often make it easier to understand, and sometimes they resolve ambiguity. — Justin Stafford, Commented Jun 25, 2020 at 7:42
It is good style to use parallel constructions. Roughly, if you do a thing multiple times in a sentence, prefer to do it the same way. skidmore.edu/writing_guide/terms/parallel.php — BadZen, Commented Aug 10, 2023 at 14:24
It would be better expressed with a list, table, or even a diagram. Just because something's grammatical doesn't mean it's good writing. — Stuart F, Commented Dec 3 at 20:30

Ray Butterworth · Accepted Answer · 2022-10-05 03:17:07Z

1

Grammatically they are both fine.

The second one is longer to write, but is a little easier to read and understand.

One could even repeat the "to": "and from C to A and to B".

answered Oct 5, 2022 at 3:17

Ray Butterworth

1,0141 gold badge3 silver badges12 bronze badges

Add a comment |

1 Answer 1