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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
"Arthur "No Sheds" Jackson!"
Below is a line is from a Monty Python sketch.
Eric Idle: "Then you would be Arthur "No Sheds" Jackson!"
The composer (Terry Jones) is repeatedly called "Two Sheds" because he once considered buying another shed,
but when he no longer owns any shed, why would plural (=s) be used there?
Zero and plurality have almost nothing in common in concept, I think.
Likewise, seemingly, "there was no incident", "there was no incidents", "there were no incidents" are all OK,
judging from googling results.
I personally feel, logically, only "there was no incident" makes sense.. Or is my logic flawed?
Eric Idle: "Then you would be Arthur "No Sheds" Jackson!"
The composer (Terry Jones) is repeatedly called "Two Sheds" because he once considered buying another shed,
but when he no longer owns any shed, why would plural (=s) be used there?
Zero and plurality have almost nothing in common in concept, I think.
Likewise, seemingly, "there was no incident", "there was no incidents", "there were no incidents" are all OK,
judging from googling results.
I personally feel, logically, only "there was no incident" makes sense.. Or is my logic flawed?
Top answer
In a context in which people originally thought he had more than one shed, 'no sheds' makes sense. In a context where people originally thought he had only one shed, 'no shed' would make sense. Consider these examples.
- In a context in which people originally thought he had more than one shed, 'no sheds' makes sense.
- In a context where people originally thought he had only one shed, 'no shed' would make sense.
- Consider these examples.
- eg A: I saw a crowd of people at the corner.
- Was there an accident?
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2 Answers
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In a context in which people originally thought he had more than one shed, 'no sheds' makes sense.
In a context where people originally thought he had only one shed, 'no shed' would make sense.
Consider these examples.
eg
A: I saw a crowd of people at the corner. Was there an accident?
B: No, t
In a context where people originally thought he had only one shed, 'no shed' would make sense.
Consider these examples.
eg
A: I saw a crowd of people at the corner. Was there an accident?
B: No, t
00
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