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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Use of that
Please explain the word "that" in this sentence - what is its function? Why is (a) correct and why b, c and d are incorrect. Thank you
The sun has a density of over a hundred times _______ and a temperature of 10-20 million degrees C.
a. that of water
b. of water
c. than that of water
d. water
The sun has a density of over a hundred times _______ and a temperature of 10-20 million degrees C.
a. that of water
b. of water
c. than that of water
d. water
Top answer
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2 Answers
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"The sun has a density of over a hundred times that of water" = "The sun has a density of over a hundred times the density of water"
(You wouldn't normally use the second sentence; it seems unnecessarily repetitious -- which is, of course, where "that" comes to the rescue!)
(You wouldn't normally use the second sentence; it seems unnecessarily repetitious -- which is, of course, where "that" comes to the rescue!)
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a. and d. are both correct. They are forms of what's known as REDUCTION where a PRO-FORM or ELLIPSIS is used to represent 'old information'. In a. that is a PRO-FORM interpreted as the density. Pro-forms typically are a way of reducing clauses, noun phrases etc. to avoid saying or writing the same thing twice and that's what's happening here
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