Can I use two prepositions in this example, or is one better?

I want to say "the reality of and outlook on crime in Europe" without using two prepositions.

Can I say "the reality and outlook on crime in Europe?"
Can you lead me to a grammatical reference for this issue so I can read further?


When forming a parallel construction such as this, it is important to include all the words necessary to make the parallelism work properly. Since, as you note, "outlook" and "reality" require two different prepositions, those prepositions need to be included in the paralleled structures. However, the prepositions do make the sentence look at least a little bit awkward, so it is probably worth your while to search around a bit for alternative words that use matching prepositions, or to reword the sentence to eliminate the parallel construction:

The reality and the perception of crime in Europe

Crime in Europe: the reality vs. the outlook


First, what do we mean by "outlook?" Prediction? Opinion? Emotion? The word tells us very little. Better to use a word that's not so lazy, not so weasely. Also "reality": why not just say or show the facts without the preamble?

Then, to me, the reality of crime and the "outlook" on crime are two ideas different enough that each deserves its own phrase or sentence:

"We issued 42 speeding tickets last year1. We are working to cut that number by half2."

-- pete

1 The reality.
2 The "outlook."