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Ann225 Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Sparse

Hi everyone,

''The bus service here is quite sparse in the summer.''

''The bus routes in this part of town are sparse during Christmas.'' (I think that 'sparse' doesn't really work in this case, but I thought that it'd be worth asking the question anyway.)

Are these okay?

And can a bus schedule be also considered sparse if there is a big time gap between each bus?

Thank you for your insights in advance!

  

Top answer

I think that "sparse" is not wholly incorrect, but it would not be the usual choice here. More common would be "infrequent". '' I don't think that a bus route can really be sparse/infrequent.

— GPY

  • I think that "sparse" is not wholly incorrect, but it would not be the usual choice here.
  • More common would be "infrequent".
  • '' I don't think that a bus route can really be sparse/infrequent.
  • I noticed while copying and pasting that you have constructed double quotation marks (") by typing two singles ('').
  • This isn't correct.
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3 Answers
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I think that "sparse" is not wholly incorrect, but it would not be the usual choice here. More common would be "infrequent".

Ann225''The bus routes in this part of town are sparse during Christmas.''

I don't think that a bus route can really be sparse/infrequent.

I noticed while copying and pasting that you have constructed double quotati

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Ann225The bus service here is quite sparse in the summer.'

Instead of 'sparse' I'd write 'spotty', but I think 'reduced' and maybe even 'cut back' also work.

CJ

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It's the buses that are sparse, not the schedule or the route.

It's a somewhat idiomatic use of 'sparse'.

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