Singular or plural

Question

Q1 If someone wants to say, meaning, "At that time, I was quite happy to see the children smile," which of the following two choices is better?

#1 The children's smile made me happy.
#2 The children's smiles made me happy.

Q2 If somebody nts to mean to say, "He comes to school by using public transportation," which of the following three is the best?

#1 He takes a bus and train to come to school.
#2 He takes a bus and a train to come to school.
#3 He takes buses and trains to come to school.

Regarding both of the two questions, if there is a more natural expression using the same construction, please teach me.

Philip · Accepted Answer

I would use choice #2 in both cases.

Seagull · Answer

Thank you very much indeed, Philip.

Andre Delicata · Answer

I agree with Philip. In the first, it's because children is in the plural, hence smiles. In the second, it really depends on what you want to say, however, I assume you mean one bus and one train in which case no 2 is correct.

Seagull · Answer

Thank you so much, Andre Delicata.
I understand.

CalifJim · Answer

At that time, I was quite happy to see the children smile. ~ The children's smiles made me happy.
He comes to school by ~~using~~ public transportation. ~ He takes a bus or a train to come to school. / He takes both a bus and a train to come to school. (depending on the actual case)

Note that it is more idiomatic to say "by public transportation" or "using public transportation", rather than "by using public transportation", though all three are correct.

CJ

Seagull · Answer

Thank you very much for your correction, CalifJim.
I understand.

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