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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
How they differ?
Hi teachers,
Excerpts from an article.
A. Polls show that Afghans have confidence in U.S. forces when they think the American presence is strong in their area.
B. Only 14 percent of Afghans said it was strong in their areas, the same as the year before.
C. Moreover, one third to one half of Afghans mention poor local security or compulsion as the reason people in their areas support the insurgents, just as many as cite religious.
My questions:
1. "in their area" and "in their areas" - how to understand one from the other in terms of usage in the above?
2. Whenever I encounter "Polls show(ed)", "Studies show(ed)", "A recent survey on.. showed / shows", I just don't know whether "present tense" or "past tense" should be used?
3. Is "Afghanistani" same as "Afghans"?
Thank you.
Tinanam
Excerpts from an article.
A. Polls show that Afghans have confidence in U.S. forces when they think the American presence is strong in their area.
B. Only 14 percent of Afghans said it was strong in their areas, the same as the year before.
C. Moreover, one third to one half of Afghans mention poor local security or compulsion as the reason people in their areas support the insurgents, just as many as cite religious.
My questions:
1. "in their area" and "in their areas" - how to understand one from the other in terms of usage in the above?
2. Whenever I encounter "Polls show(ed)", "Studies show(ed)", "A recent survey on.. showed / shows", I just don't know whether "present tense" or "past tense" should be used?
3. Is "Afghanistani" same as "Afghans"?
Thank you.
Tinanam
Top answer
Anonymous 1. "in their area" and "in their area s " - how to understand one from the other in terms of usage in the above? It's really impossible to distinguish one from another in those sorts of contexts.
- Anonymous 1.
- "in their area" and "in their area s " - how to understand one from the other in terms of usage in the above?
- It's really impossible to distinguish one from another in those sorts of contexts.
- Either area or areas could have been used in each case.
- The writer expects the reader to know that these are "distributive cases", that is, each Afghan who answered the poll question would have answered with respect to his opinion about his own area , and since many Afghans responded to the poll, many different areas were represented in the poll.
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6 Answers
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Anonymous1. "in their area" and "in their areas" - how to understand one from the other in terms of usage in the above?It's really impossible to distinguish one from another in those sorts of contexts. Either area or areas could have been used in each case. The writer expects the reader to know that these are "distributive cases
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CalifJim Afghanistanis is the same as Afghans. I've noticed a recent tendency to use the shorter form in preference to the longer, and apparently older, term.
Hi CalifJim,
Thank you for your help.
Do you mean "Afghans" is the older term? I'd like to check my understanding.
Tinanam
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AnonymousDo you mean "Afghans" is the older term? I'd like to check my understanding.Let me rephrase my statement.
I've noticed that recently journalists are using the shorter form (Afghans) more often than they use the longer term (Afghanistanis). It seems to me that journalists used to use Afghanistanis more often than they u
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Hi,
Here in Canada, I've had a lot of people from Afghanistan in my class. The term they commonly use is 'Afghani'. I never hear 'Afghanistani'.
Cliverm
Here in Canada, I've had a lot of people from Afghanistan in my class. The term they commonly use is 'Afghani'. I never hear 'Afghanistani'.
Cliverm
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Yes. Yet another word! The afghani is also the monetary unit of Afghanistan and Afghani is one of the names of one of the languages spoken there. And Afghanithe most common adjectival form. And let's not even get into the afghan that my grandma once knitted for me.
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Hi CalifJim, hi Clive,
Thank you for the information.
Good day.
Tinanam
Thank you for the information.
Good day.
Tinanam
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