better sentence

The sentences have the same meaning. I agree that sentence 2 is better, since it is less "wordy".

However, this is just our opinion. There is no authority to which anyone can appeal for a ruling.

You're right. We need no authority to confirm, I think.

If you think it is so, and I agree, then it should be the case.

Best wishes.

better sentence
I agree, the second is preferable. However, both are correct, though the first is more formal, even a bit pompous.

Hi Contrex, Tomkitten thinks the same as we do.

Best wishes.

In general, the most economical way of expressing an idea is to be preferred. Sometimes, for reasons of grammar or syntax, it is obvious that one given sentence is preferable to another. Sometimes it is not so clear. Sometimes asking which sentence is "better" is like asking "which painting is better?" or "which tune is better?".

Hi Contex

What do 'syntax' and 'semantics' mean? I've referred to my dictionaries, but I'm still not clear about the meanings.

I hope you will me understand the two terms.

Many thanks.

Briefly put, in linguistics, syntax is the study of the rules that govern the structure of sentences, and which determine their relative grammaticality.

The term syntax can also be used to refer to these rules themselves, as in "the syntax of a language". Modern research in syntax attempts to describe languages in terms of such rules, and, for many practitioners, to find general rules that apply to all languages. Since the field of syntax attempts to explain grammaticality judgments, and not provide them, it is unconcerned with linguistic prescription.

Semantics refers to aspects of meaning, as expressed in language or other systems of signs. Semantics contrasts with syntax, which is the study of the structure of sign systems (focusing on the form, not meaning). By the usual convention that calls a study or a theory by the name of its subject matter, semantics may also denote the theoretical study of meaning in systems of signs.