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Jisu98 Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
Why omit 'to' ? & 'person' or 'people'
Thank you in advance.
I've seen some sentences omitting 'to' when a verb used as a complement. For example, 'The saftest thing to do is stop and stand like a statue.' Is it a mistake, a colloquial ussage or an acceptible formal one?
And, I will post again about 'people' or 'person'. In fact, I posted the following question a few minutes ago but it's not on the list. If it is, sorry.
I took an exam and I saw a sentence 'According to the above story, Ida Lewis had saved at least 3 persons in trouble in the ocean.'
When I studied at a language school, teachers (at least 3 different teachers) emphasized that I have to use '1 person' or ' 2 people', '3 people' and so on. But, the above was in my midterm and I looked up a dictionay. According to it, '3 persons' are right. What's going on? Why my two Canadian teachers and an American teacher told me not to use '3 persons'? They told me to say '3 people. Is there any reason?
I've seen some sentences omitting 'to' when a verb used as a complement. For example, 'The saftest thing to do is stop and stand like a statue.' Is it a mistake, a colloquial ussage or an acceptible formal one?
And, I will post again about 'people' or 'person'. In fact, I posted the following question a few minutes ago but it's not on the list. If it is, sorry.
I took an exam and I saw a sentence 'According to the above story, Ida Lewis had saved at least 3 persons in trouble in the ocean.'
When I studied at a language school, teachers (at least 3 different teachers) emphasized that I have to use '1 person' or ' 2 people', '3 people' and so on. But, the above was in my midterm and I looked up a dictionay. According to it, '3 persons' are right. What's going on? Why my two Canadian teachers and an American teacher told me not to use '3 persons'? They told me to say '3 people. Is there any reason?
Top answer
1-- Yes, the to can be omitted and, if the sentence is clearer thereby, is considered better style. 2-- Persons is a legitimate plural for person, but it usually appears in semi-official language or in an effort to give a specific head count; a newspaper report of a disaster would qualify, I think.
- 1-- Yes, the to can be omitted and, if the sentence is clearer thereby, is considered better style.
- 2-- Persons is a legitimate plural for person, but it usually appears in semi-official language or in an effort to give a specific head count; a newspaper report of a disaster would qualify, I think.
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1 Answers
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1-- Yes, the to can be omitted and, if the sentence is clearer thereby, is considered better style.
2-- Persons is a legitimate plural for person, but it usually appears in semi-official language or in an effort to give a specific head count; a newspaper report of a disaster would qualify, I think.
2-- Persons is a legitimate plural for person, but it usually appears in semi-official language or in an effort to give a specific head count; a newspaper report of a disaster would qualify, I think.
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