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MustAsk Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

To have too big cars

Hi

Am right that:

You have too big cars.
You have too big muscles.

Is the wrong way to say it?

You have muscles/cars that are too big.

Would be natural. Is my thinking right?

Thanks!
  

Top answer

MustAsk Is the wrong way to say it? " For a singular thing, we might say: You have too big of a nose. MustAsk You have muscles/cars that are too big.

— AlpheccaStars

  • MustAsk Is the wrong way to say it?
  • " For a singular thing, we might say: You have too big of a nose.
  • MustAsk You have muscles/cars that are too big.
  • Would be natural.
  • Is my thinking right?
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5 Answers
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MustAskIs the wrong way to say it?
Yes, because it would be heard as "two."

For a singular thing, we might say:

You have too big of a nose.
MustAskYou have muscles/cars that are too big. Would be natural. Is my thinking right?
Yes.
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AlpheccaStarsYou have too big of a nose.
That sounds very strange to this speaker of BrE. I note that there are a lot of citations for this construction in COCA, but none in the BNC.

In the singular I could say 'You have too big a nose', but for a plural noun I think I'd say only 'Your cars are too big' or 'You have cars that are too big'.
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MustAskAm right that:You have too big cars.You have too big muscles.Is the wrong way to say it?
In my opinion, you are right that it is wrong. Americans are very likely to say those like this:

Your cars are too big.
Your muscles are too big.

CJ
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I came up with another example that I'm unsure about:

He has such big muscles.

Is that natural?
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MustAskHe has such big muscles. Is that natural?
Yes, that works fine. "such" acts as "very", but it's more exclamatory. It's saying "Wow!"

CJ
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