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Usenet Posted 23 years ago
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Several Questions on Grammar
I have several questions regarding grammar:
1) If person A weighed 150 pounds, person B weighed 200 pounds, andperson C weighed 200 pounds, which one is correct: a) Person B is the heaviest or b) Person B is the heavier?
2) According to the AUE.org FAQ, "Use of a plural verb after asingular noun denoting a group of persons (known as a noun of multitude) is commoner in the U.K. than in the U.S." What about a group of non-people? For example: "The fishing fleet left the harbor when the fishermen heard that a school of bluefish were near the wreck." Would this be incorrect, even in BrE?
3) "With the exception of Frank and me, everyone in the class finishedthe assignment before the bell rang." Is this a grammatically correct sentence?
4) "Some women have made a clear-cut choice between a career andmotherhood; others have created a balance between the two." Is this correct, or should it be changed to "Some women have made clear-cut choices between a career and motherhood; others have created balances between the two."?
Thank you.
1) If person A weighed 150 pounds, person B weighed 200 pounds, andperson C weighed 200 pounds, which one is correct: a) Person B is the heaviest or b) Person B is the heavier?
2) According to the AUE.org FAQ, "Use of a plural verb after asingular noun denoting a group of persons (known as a noun of multitude) is commoner in the U.K. than in the U.S." What about a group of non-people? For example: "The fishing fleet left the harbor when the fishermen heard that a school of bluefish were near the wreck." Would this be incorrect, even in BrE?
3) "With the exception of Frank and me, everyone in the class finishedthe assignment before the bell rang." Is this a grammatically correct sentence?
4) "Some women have made a clear-cut choice between a career andmotherhood; others have created a balance between the two." Is this correct, or should it be changed to "Some women have made clear-cut choices between a career and motherhood; others have created balances between the two."?
Thank you.
Top answer
[nq:1]I have several questions regarding grammar: 1) If person A weighed 150 pounds, person B weighed 200 pounds, and person ... [/nq] I have a question too. When is your homework due?
- [nq:1]I have several questions regarding grammar: 1) If person A weighed 150 pounds, person B weighed 200 pounds, and person ...
- [/nq] I have a question too.
- When is your homework due?
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14 Answers
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[nq:1]I have several questions regarding grammar: 1) If person A weighed 150 pounds, person B weighed 200 pounds, and person ... changed to "Some women have made clear-cut choices between a career and motherhood; others have created balances between the two."?[/nq]
I have a question too. When is your homework due?
I have a question too. When is your homework due?
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[nq:2]I have several questions regarding grammar: 1) If person A ... career and motherhood; others have created balances between the two."?[/nq]
[nq:1]I have a question too. When is your homework due?[/nq]
It's not a homework assignment; I'm asking these questions for my own edification. If you can help, then please do so. If a semi-witty remark is all you can offer, then please refrain fr
[nq:1]I have a question too. When is your homework due?[/nq]
It's not a homework assignment; I'm asking these questions for my own edification. If you can help, then please do so. If a semi-witty remark is all you can offer, then please refrain fr
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[nq:2]I have a question too. When is your homework due?[/nq]
[nq:1]It's not a homework assignment; I'm asking these questions for my own edification. If you can help, then please do so. If a semi-witty remark is all you can offer, then please refrain from posting. Thank you.[/nq]
The homework crack, often heard here unjustly, wasn't even half-witty. Ask away and ignore the wiseacres, for t
[nq:1]It's not a homework assignment; I'm asking these questions for my own edification. If you can help, then please do so. If a semi-witty remark is all you can offer, then please refrain from posting. Thank you.[/nq]
The homework crack, often heard here unjustly, wasn't even half-witty. Ask away and ignore the wiseacres, for t
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[nq:1]1) If person A weighed 150 pounds, person B weighed 200 pounds, and person C weighed 200 pounds, which one is correct: a) Person B is the heaviest or b) Person B is the heavier? [/nq]
Either one is OK, although many will say "heavier" must be used
[nq:1]The fishing fleet left the harbor when the fishermen heard that a school of bluefish were near the wreck." Would this be incorrect,
Either one is OK, although many will say "heavier" must be used
[nq:1]The fishing fleet left the harbor when the fishermen heard that a school of bluefish were near the wreck." Would this be incorrect,
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[nq:2]I asked for help, and the reply was sarcasm. Correct ... discussions, especially in a prestigious newsgroup such as this one.[/nq]
[nq:1]You don't need to read many threads here to discover that civility is relatively rare. And why should civility be ... or legerdemain; of the nature of or characterized by juggling or magic; cheating, deluding, deceitful; deceptive, illusory. Now rare. [
[nq:1]You don't need to read many threads here to discover that civility is relatively rare. And why should civility be ... or legerdemain; of the nature of or characterized by juggling or magic; cheating, deluding, deceitful; deceptive, illusory. Now rare. [
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Thank you for your help. For the last one, you said "balance" would be correct. What about "choice?" Is it correct as it is or is "choices" correct?
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1. B is the heaviest.
2. A school is a collective noun. A school of bluefish sounds plural to myear and I would use the plural.
3. no
4. Drop the semicolon and write two short sentences.
Tim
bogus email to irritate the bots
2. A school is a collective noun. A school of bluefish sounds plural to myear and I would use the plural.
3. no
4. Drop the semicolon and write two short sentences.
Tim
bogus email to irritate the bots
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[nq:1]1. B is the heaviest.[/nq]
Actually, he is not. C is just as heavy, so you could say that C is the heaviest.
Skitt (in SF Bay Area) http://www.geocities.com/opus731/ I speak English well I learn it from a book!
Manuel (Fawlty Towers)
Actually, he is not. C is just as heavy, so you could say that C is the heaviest.
Skitt (in SF Bay Area) http://www.geocities.com/opus731/ I speak English well I learn it from a book!
Manuel (Fawlty Towers)
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...
} BTW, and contrary to what some may believe, this is not the sense } intended in the naming of the "Postwar Prestige Standard"(tm) dialect (a } now-obsolete name, BTAWNS).
Yeah, it's now properly the "Performer/Side-Show"(tm) dialect (notable for its actor/English-teacher "a" in "man" and its emphatic "u" in "hurry"). Otherwise it's plain (American) English (CINC and MINMINM).
} BTW, and contrary to what some may believe, this is not the sense } intended in the naming of the "Postwar Prestige Standard"(tm) dialect (a } now-obsolete name, BTAWNS).
Yeah, it's now properly the "Performer/Side-Show"(tm) dialect (notable for its actor/English-teacher "a" in "man" and its emphatic "u" in "hurry"). Otherwise it's plain (American) English (CINC and MINMINM).
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Anand Vishy:
[nq:2]1) If person A weighed 150 pounds, person B weighed ... is the heaviest or b) Person B is the heavier?[/nq]
[nq:1]Either one is OK, although many will say "heavier" must be used[/nq]
No, both are wrong. No one of the three is the heaviest.
Mark Brader, Toronto > "I wish to *** these calculations had been (Email Removed) > executed by steam!" Charles Babbag
[nq:2]1) If person A weighed 150 pounds, person B weighed ... is the heaviest or b) Person B is the heavier?[/nq]
[nq:1]Either one is OK, although many will say "heavier" must be used[/nq]
No, both are wrong. No one of the three is the heaviest.
Mark Brader, Toronto > "I wish to *** these calculations had been (Email Removed) > executed by steam!" Charles Babbag
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