ellipsis: The number of the people at the meeting is larger than last week.

[Freeguy]

[FONT=&quot]- The number of people at the meeting is larger than last week.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Some of my colleagues think it should be "last week's". However, I believe this is ellipsis:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]"The number of people at the meeting is larger than [it was] last week."[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ellipsis occurs when the missing elements are recoverable from the context, even if, as here, adaptation is necessary.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]What do you think?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot](Source: A mock exam held in Iran)[/FONT]

 

[Raymott]

Re: ellipsis

They're both acceptable to me.

 

[Rover_KE]

Re: ellipsis: The number of people at the meeting is larger than last week.

Freeguy, please note that I have improved your thread title.

Extract from the Posting Guidelines:

'Thread titles should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.'

 

[jutfrank]

Re: ellipsis: The number of people at the meeting is larger than last week.

You're absolutely right. It's very common and natural to do this kind of ellipsis.

I don't think your colleague's correction of adding a possessive apostrophe is a good one. It doesn't sound as natural to me.

 

[Yankee]

Re: ellipsis: The number of people at the meeting is larger than last week.

You're absolutely right. It's very common and natural to do this kind of ellipsis.

I don't think your colleague's correction of adding a possessive apostrophe is a good one. It doesn't sound as natural to me.

Unless you followed "week's" with "meeting".

 

[jutfrank]

Re: ellipsis: The number of people at the meeting is larger than last week.

Unless you followed "week's" with "meeting".

The comparison is of the numbers, not the meetings, so that doesn't sound right to me. I suppose you could use at before last week's, however, and then you wouldn't even need to follow with meeting.

The number of people at the meeting is larger than at last week's (meeting).

 

[Freeguy]

Re: ellipsis: The number of people at the meeting is larger than last week.

[FONT=&quot]I found the source. Grammar workbook for the TOEFL exam. Look here:




[/FONT]