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Otherness Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Sold As ... Bags Per Box

The context is a sales ad:

http://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Prince-Contractor-32-Inch-48-Inch/dp/B0058J2XEY:
"Plastic Prince - Heavy Duty 42 Gallon Contractor Bags - 3 Mil - 32-Inch by 48-Inch - Sold As 20 Bags Per Box."

Is "sold as 20 bags per box" okay English? Should it have been "sold as boxes of 20 bags" or "sold as 20-bag boxes"?
  

Top answer

We allow all sorts of shorthand and abbreviations in advertising that we wouldn't in standard written English. It's fine given the context.

  • We allow all sorts of shorthand and abbreviations in advertising that we wouldn't in standard written English.
  • It's fine given the context.
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5 Answers
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We allow all sorts of shorthand and abbreviations in advertising that we wouldn't in standard written English. It's fine given the context.
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So, when writing standard English sentences, the following would be unacceptable:

"The coffee is sold as four bottles per box."

?
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So when writing academic English, these would be unacceptable:

"The coffee is sold as four bottles per box"
"The jam is sold as six jars per box"
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I don't think they're technically wrong, but you'd be much more likely to say something like "The coffee is sold in boxes containing four bottles each" or "The coffee is sold as boxes of four bottles".
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Correct, both make sense. There are hundreds of ways to say, "The Chicken crossed the road to get to the other side." It's just deciding what is the best way to communicate a clear sentence of what you're trying to say. Examples that make sense, but become less intellectual or structured wrong:
"To get to the other side, the Chicken had to cross the road."
"Chicken is on the other side of

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