Celebrity English

"Mexicans and in particular Latinos in general contribute an enormous amount to this country, and I think it's insulting to threaten deportation. The most honorable thing you can do with your life is support your family, and that's what most of these people are doing." - Eva Longoria, about her support of Hispanic protests against proposed US immigration policy changes

Eva has misplaced a modifier to create a conflicting statement.

She refers to "Mexicans and in particular Latinos in general," a noun phrase that contains two modifiers: "in particular" and "in general." However, the modifier "in particular" immediately precedes "Latinos" and appears to modify this noun, while the modifier "in general" immediately follows "Latinos" and appears to modify it as well.

The phrases "in particular" and "in general" are opposite in meaning, so this statement does not make sense. Furthermore, it is more common to introduce the general before presenting the particular.

To correct the error and improve the syntax, move "in particular" closer to the noun it modifies and switch the positions of the two modified nouns.

"Latinos in general and Mexicans in particular contribute an enormous amount to this country, and I think it's insulting to threaten deportation."