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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Use of a
School is not that bad a place.
In this sentence why do we write "a place" instead of "place"?
In this sentence why do we write "a place" instead of "place"?
Top answer
The expression "not that bad a place" or "not so bad a place" is an informal shortening. " Without the "a" the meaning changes or becomes unclear. It might sound like you were trying to say "School is a bad place" but didn't know how to use grammar.
- The expression "not that bad a place" or "not so bad a place" is an informal shortening.
- " Without the "a" the meaning changes or becomes unclear.
- It might sound like you were trying to say "School is a bad place" but didn't know how to use grammar.
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2 Answers
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The expression "not that bad a place" or "not so bad a place" is an informal shortening. The full, expanded phrase is "School is not that bad of a place."
You can't say "School is not that bad place." Without the "a" the meaning changes or becomes unclear. It might sound like you were trying to say "School is a bad place" but didn't know how to use grammar.
You can't say "School is not that bad place." Without the "a" the meaning changes or becomes unclear. It might sound like you were trying to say "School is a bad place" but didn't know how to use grammar.
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Doctor DThe full, expanded phrase is "School is not that bad of a place."
I'm intrigued by this version with "of". There seem to be tons of Google hits attesting to its use, but to me the inclusion of "of" sounds completely wrong.
Can anyone shed any more light on this? Is the version with "of" American English only? Is "of" fully
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