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01-Dec-2006, 07:53
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| | double A survey by the National Council of Churches showed that in 1986 there were 20736 female ministers, almost 9 percent of the nation's clergy, double the figure for 1977.
i'm a bit confused by the "double the figure for 1977."
is the double an adjective?
thanks | 
01-Dec-2006, 14:27
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| | Re: double Quote:
Originally Posted by mengta A survey by the National Council of Churches showed that in 1986 there were 20736 female ministers, almost 9 percent of the nation's clergy, double the figure for 1977.
i'm a bit confused by the "double the figure for 1977."
is the double an adjective?
thanks | It's confusing because it's ambiguous. Either there were 10,368 female ministers in 1977 (so that the 1986 figure is twice that), or the percentage of female ministers in 1977 was only 4½ of the nation's clergy (so that the 1988 figure is twice that).
As to the part of speech, I'm not sure. 'Double the figure' = 'the figure after it's been doubled'; and 'after it's been doubled' (I'd say - though parsing isn't my strong point) is an adjectival phrase; so I think 'double' there is some kind of determiner. Wait for a more authoritative answer - I know I shall.
b | 
02-Dec-2006, 07:20
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| | Re: double Quote:
Originally Posted by mengta A survey by the National Council of Churches showed that in 1986 there were 20736 female ministers, almost 9 percent of the nation's clergy, double the figure for 1977.
i'm a bit confused by the "double the figure for 1977."
is the double an adjective?
thanks | Yes, "double" is an adjective. I agree with BobK that the sentence can be confusing. As it is written, "double" applies to 9%. | 
02-Dec-2006, 19:45
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| | Re: double Quote:
Originally Posted by mengta A survey by the National Council of Churches showed that in 1986 there were 20736 female ministers, almost 9 percent of the nation's clergy, double the figure for 1977.
i'm a bit confused by the "double the figure for 1977."
is the double an adjective? |
IMO, the sentence would be improved by the use of parentheses, thus: A survey by the National Council of Churches showed that in 1986 there were 20,736 female ministers (almost 9 percent of the nation's clergy), double the figure for 1977. ~R | 
02-Dec-2006, 21:35
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| | Re: double Quote:
Originally Posted by RonBee IMO, the sentence would be improved by the use of parentheses, thus: A survey by the National Council of Churches showed that in 1986 there were 20,736 female ministers (almost 9 percent of the nation's clergy), double the figure for 1977. ~R | Yes, very good.  | 
02-Dec-2006, 21:45
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| | Re: double Quote:
Originally Posted by mengta A survey by the National Council of Churches showed that in 1986 there were 20736 female ministers, almost 9 percent of the nation's clergy, double the figure for 1977.
i'm a bit confused by the "double the figure for 1977."
is the double an adjective?
thanks | "Double the figure" is literal translation into English (language interference). I don't know where you are from but I know that German's often make this mistake. | 
03-Dec-2006, 01:44
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| | Re: double Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim "Double the figure" is literal translation into English (language interference). I don't know where you are from but I know that German's often make this mistake. | What's wrong with "double the figure"? | 
03-Dec-2006, 03:24
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| | Re: double Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim "Double the figure" is literal translation into English (language interference). I don't know where you are from but I know that German's often make this mistake. | That's perfectly acceptable English. (German s)  | 
03-Dec-2006, 07:06
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| | Re: double Quote:
Originally Posted by RonBee That's perfectly acceptable English. (German s)  | I mean if it is used in the sense twice as much. | 
03-Dec-2006, 12:47
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| | Re: double Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim I mean if it is used in the sense twice as much. | I'm still confused.
If there were 10,368 female ministers in 1977, then the 1986 figure was double or twice as much. | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes | Linear Mode |
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