Grammar Quiz #7: Judge Kearse, in the decision, cited the payments to the detectives as one factor that supported the prosecution’s view that the conspiracy spanned the entire period of the indictment, from 1979 to 2005.
She said that the jury had been told the principle purpose of the enterprise, as the indictment charged, was to generate money for the detectives, through legal and illegal activities.
Answer: Aaarrgh. Make it “principal,” not “principle.” (It would also be smoother to move the “that” in this sentence, so it reads, “She said the jury had been told that the principal purpose …”)
