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MUSCOVITE Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
omitted word?
Hi,
Consider the following piece of text (in bold):
The six- forty bus gets into town at ten past seven. I can get to the office by twenty past.
I am having difficuly with understanding "...by twenty past".
(1) Why "seven" is omitted here?
(2) Is it (=omitting whole hours in phrases like this one) common enough in spoken English?
Thank you!
mus-te
Consider the following piece of text (in bold):
The six- forty bus gets into town at ten past seven. I can get to the office by twenty past.
I am having difficuly with understanding "...by twenty past".
(1) Why "seven" is omitted here?
(2) Is it (=omitting whole hours in phrases like this one) common enough in spoken English?
Thank you!
mus-te
Top answer
It's common enough in informal English, spoken and written.
- It's common enough in informal English, spoken and written.
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4 Answers
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C-J. Bailey explains such constructs with a virtual construct.
twenty past = twenty pastseven
that/this = that/thisone/thing
some = somebody/one
the good = the good folks (plural) are
the good does = the good one (singular) does
the greatest = the greatestone/thing
those/these = those/these
twenty past = twenty past
that/this = that/this
some = some
the good = the good
the good does = the good
the greatest = the greatest
those/these = those/these
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(1) "Seven" is understood because it was just mentioned. I use the word "after" often in place of "past".
(2) Yes, it's common to hear time given as "quarter after", "ten after", etc. when the hour is understood, especially if previously mentioned.
(2) Yes, it's common to hear time given as "quarter after", "ten after", etc. when the hour is understood, especially if previously mentioned.
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