Results 1 to 2 of 2
Like Tree4Likes
  • 2 Post By Odessa Dawn
  • 2 Post By Rover_KE

Thread: "a great many troubles"

  1. 20-Feb-2013, 21:54 #1
    Odessa Dawn's Avatar
    Odessa Dawn
    Odessa Dawn is offline Senior Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Student or Learner
      • Native Language:
      • Arabic
      • Home Country:
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Current Location:
      • Saudi Arabia
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    768

    Default "a great many troubles"



    "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. Worry empties today of its strength. That what happens when you worry. Mark tTwain once said, 'I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.'"

    The word "Troubles" is in a plural form. I want to know what the purpose of the indefinite article "a" is?

    Last edited by Odessa Dawn; 20-Feb-2013 at 23:29. Reason: Capitalize the first letter - Twain not twain.
    Rover_KE and anhnha like this.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  2. 20-Feb-2013, 22:05 #2
    Rover_KE
    Rover_KE is offline Moderator
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Retired English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • English
      • Home Country:
      • England
      • Current Location:
      • England
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    9,220

    Default Re: "a great many troubles"

    '...a great many' is a fixed expression meaning 'a lot of' or 'a large number of'.

    Rover
    Odessa Dawn and anhnha like this.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

Similar Threads

  1. [Idiom] "How incessant and great are the ills with which a prolonged old age is replete"
    By wotcha in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 13-Jan-2013, 16:51
  2. Does "creating headaches " mean "making troubles"?
    By NewHope in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 18-Mar-2012, 03:37
  3. [Grammar] "A number of" and "a great deal of"
    By ngoc_lan in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 25-Jan-2012, 06:17
  4. [General] Beckham pronounces "Great" with "K" sound???
    By EngFan in forum Pronunciation and Phonetics
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 28-May-2011, 16:47
  5. "big" and "great" - differences?
    By sivvy in forum Teaching English
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 19-Apr-2007, 11:23

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Forum Rules

Hotchalk

Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.1