whomever, trickle, minimum

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I have three questions to ask:

No.1
I guess Patricia will invite ___ you want.
a. whomever b. whoever

"a" is correct. No problem. But since in oral English we can say "Whom are you looking for" or "Who are you looking for" I think "b" is also possible. Is that right?

No.2
The boy began to cry and tears slowly _______ his face.
a. trickled b. dribbled
"a" is correct because I found the collocation in my dictionary. But the meaning of dribble is similar to that of trickle. Is it an issue of collocation?

No.3
Eighteen is the ___________ voting age in our country.
a. minumal b. minimum
The key is "b". But the definitions of the two are the same:

minimum: the smallest amount or number allowed or possible
minimal: very small in amount

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[bhaisahab]

Dear teachers,

I have three questions to ask:

No.1
I guess Patricia will invite ___ you want.
a. whomever b. whoever

"a" is correct. No problem. But since in oral English we can say "Whom are you looking for" or "Who are you looking for" I think "b" is also possible. Is that right? Yes.

No.2
The boy began to cry and tears slowly _______ his face.
a. trickled b. dribbled
"a" is correct because I found the collocation in my dictionary. But the meaning of dribble is similar to that of trickle. Is it an issue of collocation? Yes, it is. We don't talk about tears "dribbling".

No.3
Eighteen is the ___________ voting age in our country.
a. minumal b. minimum
The key is "b". But the definitions of the two are the same: Only 'b' is correct.

minimum: the smallest amount or number allowed or possible
minimal: very small in amount
Do you really see these definitions as the same?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Bhai.

[5jj]

I have three questions to ask:
Please ask different questions in different threads in future, to avoid confusion if people respond to different questions at different times.
No.1. I guess Patricia will invite ___ you want....... a. whomever b. whoever
"a" is correct. No problem. But since in oral English we can say "Whom are you looking for" or "Who are you looking for" I think "b" is also possible. Is that right? Yes. In fact, most people would say 'b', and many would write it.

No.2. The boy began to cry and tears slowly _______ his face.......a. trickled b. dribbled
"a" is correct because I found the collocation in my dictionary. But the meaning of dribble is similar to that of trickle. Is it an issue of collocation? Yes.

No.3. Eighteen is the ___________ voting age in our country.......a. minuimal b. minimum
The key is "b". But the definitions of the two are the same:
minimum: the smallest amount or number allowed or possible....minimal: very small in amount
Have another look at your definitions. They are not the same.

5

[jiang]

Dear Bhai,

To me the only difference is "number". But when it is used as an uncountable noun it become amount. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Bhai.

[jiang]

Hi,
To me the only difference is "number". But when it is used as an uncountable noun it become amount. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

5