[Grammar] Jack has been both AN intelligent and A hardworking boy.

[Sahil Dhankhar]

Disclaimer:-This is not my homework.

Please tell me which of the following sentences is correct.

1:-Jack has been both intelligent and hardworking boy.
2:-Jack has been both AN intelligent and A hardworking boy.
3:-Jack has been both AN intelligent and hardworking boy.


Similarly tell which of the following is correct?

1:-She is both A virtuous and A beautiful daughter of a successful businessman.
2:-She is both A virtuous and beautiful daughter of a successful businessman.
3:-She is both virtuous and beautiful daughter of a successful businessman.

 

[MikeNewYork]

In your first set, 1 is incorrect. 2 and 3 work.

Based on that, what do you think about your second set?

 

[Raymott]

I would put the article in twice.
"She is a virtuous and beautiful daughter." Fine.
"She is both virtuous and beautiful." Fine.
"She is both a virtuous and beautiful daughter." And what else? "She is both a virtuous and beautiful daughter and a good student."

 

[MikeNewYork]

Ray, is there some reason you couldn't wait for Sahil to answer my question?

 

[Barb_D]

I take issue with the semantic idea that someone can have been an intelligent boy.
You are intelligent.
If you're dead, you were intelligent.
Perhaps you can ACT intelligent or act like you are unintelligent.

But "he has been an intelligent boy" does not work for me at all.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

I agree.

I can only imagine the sentence, 'He has been an intelligent and hardworking boy' on a school report at the end of the year. (Perhaps not written by the English teacher).

 

[Raymott]

Ray, is there some reason you couldn't wait for Sahil to answer my question?

I haven't answered the question for him, because I've given a different opinion. So, he could still go ahead and answer your question based on your advice without any interference from my opinion.

 

[Sahil Dhankhar]

Mike,

Actually the problem is that I have two different books on English grammar but they are not standard books. both the different problems are in different books.
One claims this one correct :-Jack has been both AN intelligent and A hardworking boy.
The other one claims this one correct:-She is both A virtuous and beautiful daughter of a successful businessman.

I too am confused as they have directly rejected the other option as incorrect so it is like a double edged sword for me and I am unable to decide the right one.
But I think that as the person is a single one therefore we need not put "a" twice.

 

[Sahil Dhankhar]

It was my mistake that I was late in replying and the topic being very interesting, other users might have been unable to stop themselves from replying.

 

[Sahil Dhankhar]

It was in a non standard grammar book and the main objective was to find the wrong part regarding the use of articles.
So it can be said as :-
1:-Jack is both intelligent and hardworking boy.
2:-Jack is both AN intelligent and A hardworking boy.
3:-Jack is both AN intelligent and hardworking boy.

Now please reply which is the most correct/only correct sentence?
And also tell me :- Is the use of question mark in the above sentence is right ?

 

[MikeNewYork]

For me, 1 is still incorrect and 2 and 3 both work. The article can be seen as applying to both items that are connected by "and". If I had to choose between 2 and 3, I would choose 2.

The question mark is incorrect. That is not a question.