0
Yoong Liat Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

short passage

0Could someone please edit this passage for me. Thank you very much.02br
02br
00Once there were ten brothers. They were fishermen. 02br
02br
00One fine morning, they went to catch fish in the sea. They caught many fish. When the sun was about to set, they decided to go home. Before they went home, the eldest brother decided to make sure that none of them was missing.02br
02br
00So the eldest brother asked his brothers to line up side by side so that he could count them. Looking at his brothers in front of him, he counted, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.” He was shocked. “One of us is missing,” he said sadly.02br
02br
00Then the other brothers took turns to count, and finally they were sure that one of them was missing. 0-
  

Top answer

0Do you realise that one of the brothers isn't missing at all? The eldest hasn't counted himself - he only counted his 9 brothers and if he includes himself, then that makes 10. 02br 02br 00Apart from that, it reads fine as simple English.

— Tidus

  • 0Do you realise that one of the brothers isn't missing at all?
  • The eldest hasn't counted himself - he only counted his 9 brothers and if he includes himself, then that makes 10.
  • 02br 02br 00Apart from that, it reads fine as simple English.
  • 0-
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.

5 Answers
0
0Do you realise that one of the brothers isn't missing at all? The eldest hasn't counted himself - he only counted his 9 brothers and if he includes himself, then that makes 10. 02br
02br
00Apart from that, it reads fine as simple English. 0-
0
0
0Hi Tidus02br
02br
00I'm aware that each of the brothers didn't count himself. But this is just a story. 02br
02br
00Thank you very much for going through my passage and saying it's okay.02br
02br
00Best regards0-
0
0
0Hi,02br
02br
01font00Once there were ten brothers. They were fishermen. 02font02br
02br
01font00One fine morning, they went to catch 01font00fish 02font00in the sea. They caught many 01font00fish02font00.
0
0
0Hi Clive02br
02br
00Many thanks for your constructive comments.02br
02br
00Say '. . . none of them 01i00were 02i00missing'. (I would like to confirm whether 'None were ... ' is AmE. I was taught at school that 'None was ...' is also correct.)0-
0
0
0Hi,02br
02br
00I'd accept either. 'Were' suggests the possibility of more than one missing brother. I don't feel this is particularly a feature of AmE. Michael Swann 'allows' both forms.02br
02br
00Clive0-
0

Related Questions