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Parading Posted 16 years ago
Vocabulary
One of the first... Do you think this expression is possible?
Hi~ I'm EFL learner.
as you do, I frequently use the expression, 'one of the first...', in English.
for example, it can be used in a sentence, "Joseph Priestley was one of the first to discover oxygen."
However, do you think 'one of the first...' is possible?
In the exemplified sentence, the first one who discovered oxygen would be the one in the world.
Multiple persons could not share the position that should be taken by the first one.
Then, how could you use the expression?
I can't understand the mind-set of your speaking.
may be it could be correlated with your culture or perspectives.
Please explain it to me, if you don't mind.~
Thank you~
as you do, I frequently use the expression, 'one of the first...', in English.
for example, it can be used in a sentence, "Joseph Priestley was one of the first to discover oxygen."
However, do you think 'one of the first...' is possible?
In the exemplified sentence, the first one who discovered oxygen would be the one in the world.
Multiple persons could not share the position that should be taken by the first one.
Then, how could you use the expression?
I can't understand the mind-set of your speaking.
may be it could be correlated with your culture or perspectives.
Please explain it to me, if you don't mind.~
Thank you~
Top answer
"the first" does not have to be a single person. It could mean the first two, or the first three, or whatever. "one of the first" means one of an unspecified number of people who were first in some unspecified or unknown order.
- "the first" does not have to be a single person.
- It could mean the first two, or the first three, or whatever.
- "one of the first" means one of an unspecified number of people who were first in some unspecified or unknown order.
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1 Answers
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"the first" does not have to be a single person. It could mean the first two, or the first three, or whatever. "one of the first" means one of an unspecified number of people who were first in some unspecified or unknown order.
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