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Musicgold Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Are these sentences natural? August 24

Hi,

Are the following sentences natural to a native ear?

1. Whatever may they do, ultimately it is us, customers, who decide which one of them is the best.



2. Store A is quite a ways away from here, while Store B is just a little bit ways away from here.



3. It has been half an hour into the movie, but you are welcome to watch the rest.



Thanks,

MG.
  

Top answer

Musicgold Hi, Are the following sentences natural to a native ear? 1. Whatever they may do, ultimately we, the customers, decide which one of them is ( the ) best.

— Canadian45

  • Musicgold Hi, Are the following sentences natural to a native ear?
  • 1.
  • Whatever they may do, ultimately we, the customers, decide which one of them is ( the ) best.
  • Some people might use "may they", but 'they may' is standard.
  • 2.
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6 Answers
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Musicgold Hi, Are the following sentences natural to a native ear?

1. Whatever they may do, ultimately we, the customers, decide which one of them is (the) best.

Some people might u
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1. Whatever they may do, ultimately it is us, the customers, who decide which one of them is the best.

Difficult to interpret without context, but grammatically fine (as corrected).

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Hi CJ,

" (quite a ways is also possible.)"

Is it grammatical to put the indefinite article "a" before the plural "ways"?
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Thanks folks.

canadian45 3. It is half an hour into the movie, but you are welcome to watch the rest (of it).
Why did you use present perfect tense there?
It is the way I interpreted the situation. I felt that the present perfect was necessary as we were talking about something that was complete then ( the
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AnonymousIs it grammatical to put the indefinite article "a" before the plural "ways"?
Yes. ways is a peculiar exception. In certain expressions people take waysas a singular. I don't know why.
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Thank you, CJ, for your useful reply.
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