Syntax
Hello everyone,
In the two sentences below, "twice" and "two times" are interchangeable:
1. He tried to swim across the river twice.
2. He tried to swim across the river two times.
My question is: Why can't I use "two times" in the following sentence instead of "twice"?
Grassland covers twice the area that is farmland.
PS. If I use "two times", does it mean "Grassland covers the area (with two layers one above the other??)"?
Regards,
JA
Top answer
To my ear 'twice' and 'two times' are interchangeable in both of those contexts. It's just that English speakers have more or less gotten into the habit of saying 'twice' so often that they barely remember that 'two times' is also used. Learners of English should probably do the same.
- To my ear 'twice' and 'two times' are interchangeable in both of those contexts.
- It's just that English speakers have more or less gotten into the habit of saying 'twice' so often that they barely remember that 'two times' is also used.
- Learners of English should probably do the same.
- In mathematics, you say '2 x 6 is 12' as 'two times six is twelve', but anywhere else you almost always hear 'twice'.
- t1%3B%2Ctwice%3B%2Cc0 CJ
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To my ear 'twice' and 'two times' are interchangeable in both of those contexts.
It's just that English speakers have more or less gotten into the habit of saying 'twice' so often that they barely remember that 'two times' is also used.
Learners of English should probably do the same. In mathematics, you say '2 x 6 is 12' as 'two times six is twelve', but anywhere else you almost
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