Odd sentence out !

(4) "collided by" is an odd usage. "Collided at", "Collided with", and etc are commonly used.

The trains collided with each other. (O)

The trains collided by a river (X)

In 1, 2, 3, and 5, "by" introduces the agent - the woman, the gang, the river, the earthquake - and the sentences are passive. In 4, "by" is simply part of the phrase that tells you where the trains collided. If it was "The small boat was swallowed by the raging river" it would be like the others.

You can rewrite 1, 2, 3, and 5: A woman hijacked the plan, a gang attacked the tourists, a

Hi guys,

I agree with what's been said. I just want to add that I don't approve of the question, 'Which is the odd sentence?'

Would I be wrong if I answered 'Only #5 does not start with 'the'?' Or perhaps 'Only #5 contains no indefinite article'?

This kind of question expects you to get inside the examiner's head and to think the same way he thinks. He shou

Number 4 is the odd one.

Hi,

Which is the odd sentence?

I think it's time that someone corrected this question. As written, it seems to be asking which sentence is strange.

It should read 'Which sentence is the odd one out? ie which one is not like the others?

Best

CliveHi,

Which is the odd sentence?

I think it's time that someone corrected this question. As written, it seems to be asking which sentence is strange.

It should read 'Which sentence is the odd one out? ie which one is not like t

Hi,

odd - adjective: beyond or deviating from the usual or expected

You didn't state your point. Mine is that I don't find 'The trains collided by a river' to be an unusual sentence. Nor do I find it unexpected, since I had no expectations in mind when I read this set of sentences.

The examiner should be asking which s

CliveHi,

odd - adjective: beyond or deviating from the usual or expected

You didn't state your point. Mine is that I don't find 'The trains collided by a river' to be an unusual sentence. Nor do I find it unexpected, since I had no expectations in mind when I read this set of sentences.

Anonymous
There is a question in an English exam that asks the following...

Which is the odd sentence.

1. The plane was hi-jacked by a woman.

2. The tourists were attacked by a gang.

3. The soldier was hit by a bullet.

4. The trains collided by a river.

5. Three hundred people were killed by the earthquake.

Hi Milky,

If you are still there . . .

If you want to go on arguing petty semantics,

Many people would say that's what we do here a lot of the time.

For myself, I think that what may seem petty to one person may be interesting to another. That's why I try to help people with queries that don't always seem to me to have great signif