about millions of people

[LiuJing]

A Chinese English test recently designated 'about millions of' people as proper English.

Our country receives ______ visitors every year.

a-ten millions b-about millions of c-million of d-ten millions of


I know we can say 'millions of visitors', but how about about millions of?

Thank you.

[emsr2d2]

A Chinese English test recently designated 'about millions of' people as proper English.

Our country receives ______ visitors every year.

a-ten millions b-about millions of c-million of d-ten millions of


I know we can say 'millions of visitors', but how about about millions of?

Thank you.

I'm sorry, but that's rubbish! "About millions of" is not correct English. None of the four answers you have been given to choose from are correct.

Possible sentences would be:

Our country receives millions of visitors every year.
Our country receives about ten million visitors every year.
Our country receives approximately a million visitors every year.

[amigos4]

Hi, LiuJing!

I agree with emsr2d2: None of the four answers you have been given to choose from are correct.

What was the source for the test questions? Perhaps the answer to my question can be found in the first four words of your post: A Chinese English test. What is Chinese English?

[LiuJing]

You know China has a group of English teachers who have never been to an English speaking country to study the language before assigned a job to set test papers.

They tend to issue vocabulary questions like 'twelfth' and 'ninth' to see to it that students remember they are very irregular and treacherous. But there would be almost no chance for a Chinese student to use these words in real life.

In grammar, they are keen on testing subjunctive mood, other, the other, another, others, the others and so on so forth. Currently, only one out of one hundred Chinese students can write and speak English properly with the rest speaking broken English or barely speaking any , although 95 percent of them can pass the tests.

[LiuJing]

Let me give you a Chinese English example:

I have known him since three years ago.


Since the Chinese language has this kind of version, it is widely deemed correct English on Chinese university campuses. However, I know it is not correct English.

[bhaisahab]

Let me give you a Chinese English example:

I have known him since three years ago.


Since the Chinese language has this kind of version, it is widely deemed correct English on Chinese university campuses. However, I know it is not correct English.

You are right, it's not correct, it should be "I have known him for three years" or "I have known him since 2007".

[emsr2d2]

You know China has a group of English teachers who have never been to an English speaking country to study the language before assigned a job to set test papers.

They tend to issue vocabulary questions like 'twelfth' and 'ninth' to see to it that students remember they are very irregular and treacherous. But there would be almost no chance for a Chinese student to use these words in real life.

In grammar, they are keen on testing subjunctive mood, other, the other, another, others, the others and so on so forth. Currently, only one out of one hundred Chinese students can write and speak English properly with the rest speaking broken English or barely speaking any , although 95 percent of them can pass the tests.

Why do they think you're probably never going to use the words "twelfth" and "ninth" in real life?!

[emsr2d2]

Let me give you a Chinese English example:

I have known him since three years ago.


Since the Chinese language has this kind of version, it is widely deemed correct English on Chinese university campuses. However, I know it is not correct English.

Just because something exists in another language, that doesn't mean that a direct translation is acceptable! Life would be much simpler if that were the case, but it isn't. The universities that are teaching this kind of phrase are doing their students a grave injustice.

[rx-f]

If you were to read some older literature in English, you'd probably find quite a few examples of phrases like "ten millions of..." I have a strong feeling that used to be correct usage, though the "-s" got dropped over time.

Unless I've gone mad and am wrong about the above, I suspect the reason why you're taught this sort of phrase is that all of your teachers studied archaic English from old, traditional-grammar books, and don't realize that much of what they memorized all those years ago is no longer current.

[2006]

I have known him since three years ago.

I would like someone to tell me what is wrong with the above sentence. This is not to dispute that Bhaisahab's sentences are probably more common.

I have known him since (word or words indicating a time in the past).

I have known him since (February)(2007)(three years ago)(I started university)(we moved here).

2006