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Usenet Posted 23 years ago
Learning
The best team won
Hi
I'm trying to resolve a debate adn this seemed liek a likely place, so apologies if this is an old question.
It woudl seem that grammatically "the best team won" should actually be "the better team won" as the phrase refers to a comparison of two teams and therefore should use the comparative "better". However, the phrase "the best team won" appears regularly and so I was wondering if any descriptive grammarian out there could provide an explanation - or is everyone just plain wrong?
Many thanks
Steve
I'm trying to resolve a debate adn this seemed liek a likely place, so apologies if this is an old question.
It woudl seem that grammatically "the best team won" should actually be "the better team won" as the phrase refers to a comparison of two teams and therefore should use the comparative "better". However, the phrase "the best team won" appears regularly and so I was wondering if any descriptive grammarian out there could provide an explanation - or is everyone just plain wrong?
Many thanks
Steve
Top answer
[nq:1]Hi I'm trying to resolve a debate adn this seemed liek a likely place, so apologies if this is an ... [/nq] When we say, "may the best man win",we certainly mean only the competitors present don't we? Not some absent world champion?
- [nq:1]Hi I'm trying to resolve a debate adn this seemed liek a likely place, so apologies if this is an ...
- [/nq] When we say, "may the best man win",we certainly mean only the competitors present don't we?
- Not some absent world champion?
- I'm no descriptive grammarian, but I see an implied comparison in the phrase.
- "the best team won" as merely a glossing of "the best of the two teams won".
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4 Answers
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[nq:1]Hi I'm trying to resolve a debate adn this seemed liek a likely place, so apologies if this is an ... I was wondering if any descriptive grammarian out there could provide an explanation - or is everyone just plain wrong?[/nq]
When we say, "may the best man win",we certainly mean only the competitors present don't we? Not some absent world champion?
I'm no descriptive grammaria
When we say, "may the best man win",we certainly mean only the competitors present don't we? Not some absent world champion?
I'm no descriptive grammaria
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[nq:1] [/nq]
[nq:2]It woudl seem that grammatically "the best team won" should ... provide an explanation - or is everyone just plain wrong?[/nq]
[nq:1]When we say, "may the best man win",we certainly mean only the competitors present don't we? Not some absent world ... Suppose the league leading team lost to the cellar dweller, as sometimes happens. Did the best team then not loose?[/nq]
[nq:2]It woudl seem that grammatically "the best team won" should ... provide an explanation - or is everyone just plain wrong?[/nq]
[nq:1]When we say, "may the best man win",we certainly mean only the competitors present don't we? Not some absent world ... Suppose the league leading team lost to the cellar dweller, as sometimes happens. Did the best team then not loose?[/nq]
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[nq:1]These are the puzzles and nuances I was thinking about, but your example is interesting as we would say 'may ... man win'? This suggests more than simply glossing, but I am not enough of a linguist to work it out![/nq]
Well, teasing out that line of thought, if the contest is snooker, the exhortation "may the best man win" is a glossing of "may the best snooker player win". If you say "
Well, teasing out that line of thought, if the contest is snooker, the exhortation "may the best man win" is a glossing of "may the best snooker player win". If you say "
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[nq:1]Hi I'm trying to resolve a debate adn this seemed liek a likely place, so apologies if this is an ... "better".Technically, you're right, it should be "better". However, this is an idiomatic phrase, so the rules are not rigidly applied.[/nq]
However, the phrase "the best
[nq:1]team won" appears regularly and so I was wondering if any descriptive grammarian out there could provide an
However, the phrase "the best
[nq:1]team won" appears regularly and so I was wondering if any descriptive grammarian out there could provide an
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