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I improved a question, but it includes two examples which have several grammatical errors; I am not sure if they should be corrected.

Where the examples pertain to the question being asked, it's clear they should not be touched.
Eu [vou] até os meus filhos moram should not be corrected to Eu [vou] até onde os meus filhos moram.

But should the other parts of the examples be improved?
Or could that also be part of an answer?

Improvement in question

  • Eu me dirijo até os meus filhos moram para levar-os ao parque.
  • Eu me dirijo a onde os meus filhos moram para levar-os ao parque.

to

  • Eu vou até os meus filhos moram para os levar ao parque.
  • Eu vou a onde os meus filhos moram para os levar ao parque.

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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I think we have to use discretion, and act on a case by case basis.

In this particular case I see no problem correcting levar-los to levá-los or os levar because it has no bearing on the matter being asked about. But the missing onde in the first sentence and the choice of verb, ir versus dirigir, is a different matter, and I think we should leave them uncorrected.

The OP specifically asks about the choice between até and a onde. So answers should address this, and clarify that the real choice is between até onde and aonde. If we corrected the question, inserting onde in the first sentence, late answerers might miss this aspect and fail to address it.

The choice between até onde and aonde depends, in my view, on the verb that you use. So changing me dirijo to vou would affect the answers. Besides me dirijo a and, arguably, me dirijo até are not wrong. It’s just that vou sounds more natural. So we should leave the me dirijo as it is, and address the choice of verb in the answer.

So I’d say, never correct anything that has a bearing on the matter being asked about

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  • never correct anything that has a bearing on the matter being asked about - but I did not notice that changing "dirigir" to "ir" would affect the matter being asked, until you pointed out. So I guess that this means we should never edit the examples, by principle.
    – ANeves
    Apr 26, 2016 at 13:54
  • I suppose we should be conservative, and in doubt let it unchanged. Or comment, and bring the issue to the OP's attention.
    – Jacinto
    Apr 26, 2016 at 14:05
  • Here's the problem, folks. This person thought that to say drive to someone house, you used DIRIGIR. Of course, you don't. It's; ir de carro. So, if the person is trying to learn a language, it's best to make the whole sentence correct when it's obvious and not leave it completely unidiomatic. And now in the corrected version we have an equally awkward: ir até or a onde meus filhos moram. Francamente, quem fala assim? A pergunta foi feita encima de uma estrutura errada...
    – Lambie
    Apr 28, 2016 at 18:13
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I think so.

These corrections would preferably be edited in the question, but they could also be made as part of an answer.

NB: an answer with just these corrections would not be a useful and complete answer, if it did not address the original question.

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    The problem is, if you correct them late answerers may not notice them and fail to address them.
    – Jacinto
    Apr 26, 2016 at 11:46
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We should never improve.

If is in a quote/example I think we should never improve because it can be intentional. First we should ask to OP in a comment if OP want to improve the sentences

If is in formulation I think we should improve, but leave a comment to the OP to confirm corrections.

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