0
Mitsuo23 Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Rivers can be "a river or two"

Hi,


Maybe I am thinking too much but I could't pretend I am totally comfortable with the sentence.



This is from a book (He was a lisp issue):

Plurals presented a considerable problem, but I worked around them as best I could; "rivers," for example, became either "a river or two" or "many a river."



"many a river" is acceptable, but I don't think "a river or two" can be the equivalent phrase to "rivers" because, I believe, plurals mean "more than one" and so can't include "a river."



Grammatically, I think I am correct, but don't know in terms of the practical meaning. "a river or two" can be used for "rivers"?



Thank you,

M
  

Top answer

Part of his problem (and some of the humour of the book) is that he is trying to find impossible equivalents just to avoid lisping his /s/. e. not always perfectly.

— Mister Micawber

  • Part of his problem (and some of the humour of the book) is that he is trying to find impossible equivalents just to avoid lisping his /s/.
  • e.
  • not always perfectly.
  • 'A river or two' suggests more than a single river, that is all.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

2 Answers
0
Part of his problem (and some of the humour of the book) is that he is trying to find impossible equivalents just to avoid lisping his /s/. As he said, he worked around them 'as best he could', i.e. not always perfectly. 'A river or two' suggests more than a single river, that is all.
0
0
I see.

I seeeee.

Thank you, humorous lines are hard to understand, thouth that's why I'm working on this book.

M
0

Related Questions