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Old 19-Nov-2005, 03:10
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Default Need advice on Singular and Plural form, thz teachers!

Dear teachers,

Do we say:
Q1:
A. If the weather/it is rainy, Jane will stay at home and read a book. OR
B. If it is rainy, Jane will stay at home and read books.

Which one is correct?
If the answer is B, may I know the reason?

Q2:
I (remember or remembered) that you bought some story books for children last year.
Do we use remember or remembered in the above sentence? What is the difference between the two words?

Thanks, teachers.

Last edited by Help Wanted; 19-Nov-2005 at 04:08.
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Old 19-Nov-2005, 04:05
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Default Re: Need advice on Singular and Plural form, thz teachers!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Help Wanted
A. If the weather/it is rainy, Jane will stay at home and read a book.

B. If it is rainy, Jane will stay at home and read books.
To be honest, both sentences sounds fine to me. They simply convey slightly different nuances.

(B) implies that she will read more than one book, while (A) implies that she will read only one. (A), however, is more common because it speaks more generally about her reading, instead of giving it a quantity.

If you would like to use (B), however, I think it is more common to hear the word books with an adjective describing quantity.
[...] and read some books.
[...] and read a few books.
[...] and read a book or two.


I'd like to hear the opinions of others.

Last edited by VenusEnvy; 19-Nov-2005 at 04:08.
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