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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

one pen in two colors or two individual pens with one color each

Hi,
If confusion is created by the following form of the phrase, what is the possible remedy? Could it be like this?

a red and yellow pen

Is it a single pen with both red and yellow colors or a red pen and yellow pen?

If it meant as two pens with yellow for one and red for the other, it would be clear to write as:

a red and a yellow pen
  

Top answer

Hi, I remember we had a few similar threads concerning ... - a red and yellow pen - a red and yellow hat - a red and yellow shirt Please have a look at them.

  • Hi, I remember we had a few similar threads concerning ...
  • - a red and yellow pen - a red and yellow hat - a red and yellow shirt Please have a look at them.
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2 Answers
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Hi,

I remember we had a few similar threads concerning ...

- a red and yellow pen
- a red and yellow hat
- a red and yellow sh
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a) "a pen" means one pen.
b) "a red pen" is ambiguous. It could mean a pen with red ink, or a pen made of red plastic, with any color of ink. "a red pencil" is less ambiguous - it normally means the pencil lead is red.
c) "a red and yellow pen" is not ambiguous. It means a pen that has two external colors, red and yellow.
d) "a red pen and a yellow pen" is two pens. It has the same

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