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Teal lime Posted 7 years ago
Grammar
Top up by voucher or top up with voucher?
Is it "to top up by voucher" or "to top up with voucher"?
Thank you.
Top answer
A singular countable noun, such as "voucher", normally requires an article or other determiner. T he phrase "by ~", with certain nouns, in the sense of "using ~", is an idiomatic exception to this rule. Thus we can say "by voucher", "by train", "by computer" etc.
- A singular countable noun, such as "voucher", normally requires an article or other determiner.
- T he phrase "by ~", with certain nouns, in the sense of "using ~", is an idiomatic exception to this rule.
- Thus we can say "by voucher", "by train", "by computer" etc.
- The same does not apply to "with ~".
- The upshot is that "top up by voucher" is OK, while "top up with voucher" sounds abbreviated, like headlinese.
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1 Answers
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A singular countable noun, such as "voucher", normally requires an article or other determiner. The phrase "by ~", with certain nouns, in the sense of "using ~", is an idiomatic exception to this rule. Thus we can say "by voucher", "by train", "by computer" etc. The same does not apply to "with ~". The ups
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