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Thread: Urgently Required. Please answer.

  1. #1
    wannaknow is offline Newbie
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    Default Urgently Required. Please answer.

    Bundle of surprises.

    Bunchful of surprises.

    Which of these phrases would sound correct? Is there an option for the words 'bundle/ bunchful'
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    Default Re: Urgently Required. Please answer.

    There is no such word as 'bunchful'.
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    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


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    TheParser is online now Key Member
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    Default Re: Urgently Required. Please answer.

    Quote Originally Posted by wannaknow View Post

    Bunchful of surprises

    ***** NOT A TEACHER *****


    Wannaknow,


    (1) I have done some googling and wish to report my findings:

    (a) "Bunchful" is a word used by some native speakers, but it does not seem to

    be accepted as standard English, so it might be a good idea if you do not use it.

    Here are some examples that I found:

    (i) He ate carrots by the bunchful.
    (ii) Only one company is fully issuing a bunchful of titles.
    (iii) Gave Dylan a bunchful of wild flowers.
    (iv) These were quite a bunchful of fates and or coincidences.
    (v) A whole bunchful of prayers.

    (b) Google "books" had only three pages of results. That indicates that most native writers avoid this word.

    (2) Thus, you might consider:

    A whole bunch of surprises are waiting for the winner of the contest.
    A lot of surprises are waiting for the winner of the contest.
    Many surprises are waiting for the winner of the contest.
    A great deal of surprises are waiting for the winner of the contest.

  4. #4
    emsr2d2 is online now VIP Member
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    Default Re: Urgently Required. Please answer.

    Quote Originally Posted by TheParser View Post
    ***** NOT A TEACHER *****


    Wannaknow,


    (1) I have done some googling and wish to report my findings:

    (a) "Bunchful" is a word used by some native speakers, but it does not seem to

    be accepted as standard English, so it might be a good idea if you do not use it.

    Here are some examples that I found:

    (i) He ate carrots by the bunchful.
    (ii) Only one company is fully issuing a bunchful of titles.
    (iii) Gave Dylan a bunchful of wild flowers.
    (iv) These were quite a bunchful of fates and or coincidences.
    (v) A whole bunchful of prayers.

    Are you sure that the posts where you found these were actually written by native speakers? Apologies if they were, and you had already checked that, but I can honestly say I have never heard the word "bunchful" uttered by anyone.

    (b) Google "books" had only three pages of results. That indicates that most native writers avoid this word.

    Google results or not, "avoid" is certainly the best advice.
    emsr2d2
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  5. #5
    TheParser is online now Key Member
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    Default Re: Urgently Required. Please answer.

    Quote Originally Posted by emsr2d2 View Post
    emsr2d2

    ***** NOT A TEACHER *****


    (1) I usually give the sources. Today I was feeling a little lazy. And you caught me!

    (2) Yes, they were native (American) writers.

    (a) In fact, I distinctly remember that (ii) came from Billboard magazine in the 1970's. That's the American magazine for the recording industry.

    (b) Some quotations came from novels. Maybe that word is used in certain "dialects."

    (3) When you get time, just google "bunchful" in its esteemed "books" section. You will find a bunchful of results.

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    Default Re: Urgently Required. Please answer.

    None of the 129 dictionaries at OneLook: General dictionary sites mentions 'bunchful', and there are no examples in COCA. So, I'd add 'like the plague' to 'avoid it'.
    emsr2d2 and TheParser like this.
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


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