Results 1 to 6 of 6
  1. 30-Apr-2013, 09:34 #1
    maoyueh
    maoyueh is offline Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Retired English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • Chinese
      • Home Country:
      • Taiwan
      • Current Location:
      • Taiwan
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Posts
    301

    natural expressions

    Are the following sentences acceptable, natural or not natural? Thank you.

    1. There are many advantages to taking/riding the bus.
    2. There are many advantages in taking/riding the bus.
    3. There are many advantages if you take/ride the bus.
  2. 30-Apr-2013, 10:49 #2
    HanibalII
    HanibalII is offline Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Student or Learner
      • Native Language:
      • English
      • Home Country:
      • Australia
      • Current Location:
      • Australia
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Posts
    462

    Re: natural expressions

    Quote Originally Posted by maoyueh View Post
    Are the following sentences acceptable, natural or not natural? Thank you.

    1. There are many advantages to taking/riding the bus.
    2. There are many advantages in taking/riding the bus.
    3. There are many advantages if you take/ride the bus.

    Each sentence is acceptable, and I would class them all natural. I say similar sentences myself.


    "I'm currently riding the bus."

    "I'm taking the bus to uni."

    "I can take the bus to uni."


    Doesn't make a difference if you say take/taking or ride/riding. However, it is more common to say 'take/taking'. But that does not mean the use is incorrect.
    I'm not a teacher yet, but I am studying a Bachelor of Education with an English Literature major at Charles Sturt University, in NSW, Australia.
  3. 30-Apr-2013, 11:22 #3
    emsr2d2's Avatar
    emsr2d2
    emsr2d2 is offline Moderator
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • British English
      • Home Country:
      • UK
      • Current Location:
      • UK
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    61,334

    Re: natural expressions

    I don't like "There are many advantages in taking/riding/getting the bus".

    Generally, we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of​ something.
    Remember - if you don't use correct capitalisation, punctuation and spacing, anything you write will be incorrect.
  4. 01-May-2013, 02:42 #4
    maoyueh
    maoyueh is offline Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Retired English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • Chinese
      • Home Country:
      • Taiwan
      • Current Location:
      • Taiwan
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Posts
    301

    Re: natural expressions

    Quote Originally Posted by emsr2d2 View Post
    I don't like "There are many advantages in taking/riding/getting the bus".

    Generally, we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of​ something.
    Thank you for your professional opinion. However, I have seen quite a few similar sentences in Corpus of Contemporary American English. For example, I quote " There are obvious advantages in trying to solve the matter ahead of time. "

    Regards,
    maoyueh
  5. 01-May-2013, 02:49 #5
    HanibalII
    HanibalII is offline Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Student or Learner
      • Native Language:
      • English
      • Home Country:
      • Australia
      • Current Location:
      • Australia
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Posts
    462

    Re: natural expressions

    Quote Originally Posted by emsr2d2 View Post
    I don't like "There are many advantages in taking/riding/getting the bus".

    Generally, we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of​ something.
    Quite often I've heard of 'the advantages in' something.




    Quote Originally Posted by maoyueh View Post
    Thank you for your professional opinion. However, I have seen quite a few similar sentences in Corpus of Contemporary American English. For example, I quote " There are obvious advantages in trying to solve the matter ahead of time. "

    Regards,
    maoyueh

    I would say it comes down to preference in some cases.
    I'm not a teacher yet, but I am studying a Bachelor of Education with an English Literature major at Charles Sturt University, in NSW, Australia.
  6. 01-May-2013, 05:53 #6
    probus's Avatar
    probus
    probus is offline Moderator
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Retired English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • English
      • Home Country:
      • Canada
      • Current Location:
      • Canada
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    5,843

    Re: natural expressions

    Where I live, advantages to is much more common than advantages of or in.
« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Forum Rules