One is XXXX, and the other is YYYY....

pink dragon · #1 13-Jul-2005, 06:25

“One is XXXX, and the other is YYYY.”
When you mention two things such as XXXX and YYYY as written above, is it OK to use plural worlds for XXXX and YYYY?
For example, can I write “There are two types of controls in our NAT system. One is external controls and the other is internal controls.”? (This means controls in a scientific test.)
Or, should I write “One is external control...” even if the word “control” is countable? Because “One is...” means singular?
Please help me!

**Tdol** · #2 13-Jul-2005, 09:25

'One is external controls' is fine to me- it's just ellipsis for 'one (type) is external controls'. If there are a number of external controls, then the plural must be used.

pink dragon · #3 13-Jul-2005, 12:04

Thank you, tdol!
You're my favorite teacher

**Tdol** · #4 13-Jul-2005, 12:39

Ask a few more questions here and you'll find you have many favourites.

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