question about "grasp of"

[Machinebuilt]

I received a rejection with the following:

"....will need a firm grasp of the the fundamentals...."

edit was that it should be..... " grasp on the fundamentals"

?

[JD]

I think the editors may be taking the word grasp a little too literally here. While you may grasp on to something, I think it's perfectly acceptable to have a grasp of something.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entr ... _gb0347360

comprehend fully: the press failed to grasp the significance of what had happened.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grasp

broad or thorough comprehension: a good grasp of computer programming.

I would be reluctant to change it if it were my article. Maybe a polite note in the short summary when you resumbit might work.

Good luck.

Jane

[BarryDavidson]

While I wouldn't change "grasp of" either, there is a word repetition in the original post. (the) If it was that way in the submitted article... Who knows?

[Machinebuilt]

Hi....the double the was a typo in this post, not in the original article. My mistake.

Thanks for the quick responses.