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Is it grammatically correct to write:

"isn't possible to make something"

or is the only correct form "it isn't possible to make something"?

I'm asking specifically for the correct, grammatical form, not colloquial.

Julie Carter
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Alex 75
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    ‘Colloquial’ and ‘grammatical’ are not opposites. Colloquial speech requires grammaticality just as much as formal, written language—the grammatical rules are just a bit different. So are you looking for answers that deal only with formal, written language? And yes, it's possible to make an elliptical sentence like that in the right context, though it is fairly colloquial in register. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Aug 14 '15 at 09:10
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    See John Lawler's articles on conversational deletion (and the linked article) here and here. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 14 '15 at 09:39
  • With "colloquial" I meant to say verbal and not much formal. The specific case is referred to a comment in a source code file (of a software). So, as you say, it is correct in some contexts, but probably not in my case. (Although in some cases the comments of programmers contain real rants) – Alex 75 Aug 14 '15 at 09:48
  • @Alex75 - In my opinion, internal documentation doesn't need to be written in a formal style. The important thing is whether it's understandable. I once had a job where I had to maintain code that had been written years earlier. I would have been delighted to find documentation with implied subjects -- I would have been delighted to find any sort of documentation at all! – aparente001 Aug 15 '15 at 20:40

1 Answers1

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The general structure of a sentence is "subject verb object". In the sentence:

"isn't possible to make something"

you are missing the subject ("it").

Even if you can use this phrase without anyone wondering "what isn't possible?", the correct phrase is the one with the subject.

You will also find this post useful, as Edwin Ashworth pointed.

Community
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vefthym
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