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05-Jul-2008, 17:45
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| | "For over 100 years, people in London..." Hi,
Please have a look at this sentence:
For over 100 years, people in London have used the underground to travel to many places: the theatre, the museum, a sporting event, etc. As a visitor to London, it is the most reliable and quickest way to get from one place to another.
I have two queries for this:
1/ Do you think "it" in the first phrase is all right? I think it may cause misunderstanding ("it" = "a visitor to London") Therefore I suggest changing it into:
As a visitor to London, you'll find it the most reliable and quickest way toget from one place to another.
or:
When a visitor visit London, it is the most reliable and quickest way to get from one place to another.
2/ Can the word "get" here be replaced by "go"?
Many thanks in advance.
N. | 
05-Jul-2008, 19:39
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| | Re: "For over 100 years, people in London..." It should have been:
"For a visitor to London, it..." As a visitor to London, you'll find it the most reliable and quickest way toget from one place to another.
This is grammatically correct, but changes the style of the paragraph, as the sentence is personally addressing the reader.
or: When a visitor visits London, it is the most reliable and quickest way to get from one place to another.
With the change to singular verb, it is grammatically correct, but suffers the drawback of repetition: 'visitor visits'.
'go' means to 'move from one place to another'.
'get' combines this with the sense that there is some difficulty involved e.g.
"How can I get to the airport from here?"
"I finally got there."
Hence, "it is the most reliable and quickest way to get from..." that is, presenting the least time-consuming, and with fewest difficulties, way of reaching your destination. | | The Following User Says Thank You to David L. For This Useful Post: | | 
06-Jul-2008, 17:15
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| | Re: "For over 100 years, people in London..." Thanks a lot, David. I got it now.
By the way, what do you think about "to get from one place to others"?
I personally think it's still all right, having a more common meaning. | 
07-Jul-2008, 00:32
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| | Re: "For over 100 years, people in London..." "to get from one place to another" is fine. | | The Following User Says Thank You to Anglika For This Useful Post: | | 
07-Jul-2008, 02:36
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| | Re: "For over 100 years, people in London..." Quote:
Originally Posted by David L. It should have been: When a visitor visits London, it is the most reliable and quickest way to get from one place to another.
With the change to singular verb, it is grammatically correct, but suffers the drawback of repetition: 'visitor visits'. | There's another drawback to the use of "when" in constructions like this.
It can imply that when there are no visitors, the service becomes inefficient. | 
07-Jul-2008, 03:51
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| | Re: "For over 100 years, people in London..." When a visitor visits London, it is the most reliable and quickest way to get from one place to another.
Does this sound better: For a visitor to London, it is the most reliable and quickest way to get from one place to another. | 
07-Jul-2008, 05:17
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| | Re: "For over 100 years, people in London..." déjà vu
I thought so. | 
07-Jul-2008, 08:04
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| | Re: "For over 100 years, people in London..." Quote: |
"to get from one place to another" is fine.
| I know it is fine, Anglika, but I still don't understand why "to get from one place to others" is incorrect. (There can be more than one place, can't it?) | 
07-Jul-2008, 23:56
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| | Re: "For over 100 years, people in London..." Quote:
Originally Posted by newbie I know it is fine, Anglika, but I still don't understand why "to get from one place to others" is incorrect. (There can be more than one place, can't it?) | I suspect that it is basically one of those idiomatic collocations: "from one place to another". To express plural destinations, one would say "from one place to other places" - but it does sound awkward. | | The Following User Says Thank You to Anglika For This Useful Post: | | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes | Linear Mode |
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