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HUBLOT Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

... drop in the number of babies born ...

Hi teachers,

At the same time there was a significant drop in the number of babies born prematurely or with low birthweight. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17262897)

Would it be correct to say "... drop in babies born ..." to mean "... drop in the number of babies born ..."?
  

Top answer

HUBLOT Would it be correct to say "... " to mean "... "?

— Fivejedjon

  • HUBLOT Would it be correct to say "...
  • " to mean "...
  • "?
  • Not really.
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7 Answers
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HUBLOTWould it be correct to say "... drop in babies born ..." to mean "... drop in the number of babies born ..."?
Not really.
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Hi fivejedjon,

Could I ask what you mean by "Not really"? Do you mean that although some people omit "the number of," it's not wrong?
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HUBLOTHi fivejedjon,Could I ask what you mean by "Not really"? Do you mean that although some people omit "the number of," it's not wrong?
No. Although some might omit 'the number of', that omission is not correct.
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Thanks a lot, fivejedjon.

If there was a significant drop in people accepting cookies, it would weaken the value of their services, leading to a potential cost of £21 million. (http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-04/24/
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HUBLOTIs it common even for professional writers to omit "the number of"?
I haven't the time to do a survey. I imagine it's not uncommon.
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Thanks a lot, fivejedjon.
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