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Ask for help > help with grammar please
help with grammar please
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metcet20
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help with grammar please
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�They have written books about Everest since 15th century; but the best were written in the .....
Can we use were here why not was? Thank you |
1 Nov 2010
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yanogator
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Hi,
First, it should be "since the 15th century". In your sentence, "the best" is short for "the best books", so it is plural and needs "were". If you mean "the best book", then use "was".
Also, you should have a comma instead of a semi-colon, since this is a basic compound sentence.
Bruce |
1 Nov 2010
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ldthemagicman
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Dear metcet20,
You are writing here about �books �, which is a plural word.
"They have written bookS about Everest since the 15th century; but the best were written in the ... "
IS THE SAME AS: "They have written bookS about Everest since the 15th century; but the best (books, they) were witten in the ... "
PLURAL �books �. There were MANY excellent bookS.
If you try to write about a �book �, which is a singular word, it sounds (and is) completely different.
"They have written books about Everest since the 15th century; but the best was written in the ... "
IS THE SAME AS: "They have written books about Everest since the 15th century; but the best (book, it) was written in the ... "
SINGULAR �book �. There was only ONE excellent book.
There were MANY excellent bookS, (plural), NOT just one book (singular), so we use �were � not �was �.
We write "since the 15th century".
I hope that this helps you.
Les |
1 Nov 2010
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Mariethe House
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Thanks Les for answering in such (a?)clear,and courteous way.
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1 Nov 2010
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metcet20
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Thank you for your explanations. This was a question from uni entrance exam. and it was a multiple choice question. The full qestion was like this?
People in England have been writing books about Everest at least since the 15th century; but ........ were written in the 19th century.
A the few B the least C the best D fewest E best
The answer key says �C the best �
I thought if sth is best there must be only one. Now I learned that best can be used with plural verbs and mean plural.
Have good days |
1 Nov 2010
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almaz
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Metin,
People in England have been writing books about Everest at least since the 15th century
I had no idea, given that the Welsh explorer, Sir George Everest, was born in the 1790 �s 
(sorry, Metin, I �m only using the �devilish � smiley because I can �t find a �smarty-pants � one) |
1 Nov 2010
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abdel
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both are correct:
�They have written books about Everest since 15th century; but the best were written in the .....
- here many books were written
�They have written books about Everest since 15th century; but the best was written in the .....
- the best book ( only one/ which is possible ) was written in the ....
so i don �t agree with ldthemagicman
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2 Nov 2010
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ldthemagicman
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Dear Abdel,
Your argument is perfectly acceptable. We are not in disagreement: we are actually in agreement.
The original question of Metcet20 could perhaps have been written more clearly, but it is of a similar standard to hundreds of other questions on ESLP.
He appeared to be asking us to confirm that the original words, �were written �, were correct, and that is the way that I read his question. His second Post showed that these words were, indeed, part of the original examination question.
However, as both you and I point out, the singular, �book was written �, and the plural, �books were written �, are both perfectly possible, in the circumstances which we describe.
All the Best.
Les
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2 Nov 2010
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