[Grammar] Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

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popri

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Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

Hi, I'm confused to read the following sentences; Where can I get this the cheapest?

I presume that the sentence is the same pattern as the sentence of "Let me explain it really quick."
I mean, you can say "Where can I get this the cheapest?" regarding colloquial English.
That's because the word "cheap" can be used as adverb as well as adjective.

But somebody explained to me that the cheapest is the abbreviation of the phrase "at the cheapest price".
But I feel that the explanation isn't quite convincing.

Do you happen to say the cheapest instead of at the cheapest price?

Thank you in advance.
 

tedmc

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

Where can I get this cheapest?
It is understood that 'cheapest' means 'at the cheapest price'.

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Rover_KE

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

I'd say 'Where can I get this cheapest?' or 'Where can I get this the cheapest?'
 

popri

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

Thank you all. But let me change my question.
What is the most common way to ask "Where can I get this (the) most cheaply?"

I understand that "Where can I get this (the) cheapest?" means "Where can I get this at the cheapest price?" in a broad meaning.

I guess it would be hard for many of non-native English speakers to make natural colloquial English such as "Where can I get this (the) cheapest?"
I hope you understand what I mean.
Even English teachers would not teach this sentence with the cheapest first.
I appreciate your continuous posting.
 

riquecohen

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

I'd say that the most common way would be Rover's second option in post #3.
 

Matthew Wai

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

As my above post was incorrect, should I take 'the cheapest' to be short for 'at the cheapest price' as the OP said?

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MikeNewYork

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

Yes, "the cheapest" means "at the cheapest price".
 

Tdol

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

If you want to use price, why don't you ask where you can get it for/at the lowest price?
 

popri

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

Thank you all.
It was hard for me to understand the sentence pattern because I've gotten used to say "most cheaply" instead of "the cheapest".
But I understand thanks to all of you.
 

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Popri:

You have already received the answer.

I am replying only to respectfully suggest that in real life, you might consider NOT using the adjective "cheap."

The sales associate (clerk) might be more courteous if you said something like:

"I'm looking for a jacket to wear to an important social event. Could you show me your least expensive jackets, please?"

That has a nicer ring (sound) than "Can you show me your cheapest jackets?"



James
 
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popri

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

Yes, it's true.
I think it necessary to study colloquial English, but always need to study decent English, too.
Thank you for your good advice.
 

Matthew Wai

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

I've gotten used to say "most cheaply" instead of "the cheapest".
Is 'the cheapest' short for 'the cheapest one'?
If yes, is it correct to use 'most cheaply' as an adverbial phrase instead of 'the cheapest one' which should be a noun phrase?

Not a teacher.
 

MikeNewYork

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

No "most cheaply" doesn't work there.
 

popri

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

Hello, MikeNewYork.
I’m confused again. What do you mean by No “most cheaply” doesn’t work there”?
I guess an English teacher would teach “Where can I get this at the lowest price?” first. That’s because it is considered as a decent English.
“Where can I get this (the) cheapest?” would be OK, but it’s considered as a colloquial English.
If I understand English grammar correctly, “Where can I get this cheaply?” is a correct sentence. Right? When you emphasize the adverb “cheaply”, I’ve learned that we usually use more/ most. Do you mean that the sentence “Where can I get this most cheaply?” is wrong? Or it could be correct grammatically, but native speakers just don’t say like that. Which do you mean?
 

emsr2d2

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

I can't say that I've ever used the term "decent" English when teaching. I teach formal, informal, colloquial, standard English and I teach slang if it's required or relevant. I would teach:

- Where can I buy this cheapest?
- Where can I buy this the cheapest?
- Where can I buy this at the lowest price?
- Where can I buy this for the lowest price?
- Where is this on sale cheapest?
- Where is this on sale for/at the lowest price?

There are probably a few more, but one thing is certain - I wouldn't include "Where can I buy this most cheaply?" I can't say that it's grammatically wrong, it's just not natural and I can't imagine saying/hearing it in BrE.
 

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Your humble servant has no comment whatsoever. He offers these sentences from Google "books" only as a conversation piece for interested parties:

1. "We buy shirts from China if it supplies them the most cheaply." -- Regional Progress (no date), a United Nations publication.

2. "A product is imported from the nation that can deliver it the most cheaply." -- Public Goods (another undated U.N. publication).

3. ""This would allow the firm, which is itself most likely to have the greatest expertise on how to lower pollutants most cheaply, to decide ...." -- Markets, the State, and the Environment (1995) by Robyn Eckersley.

4. "There was a kind of competition among the [name of nationality] to see who could snap it up most cheaply." -- A Magic Gecko (no date), Horst H. Geerken.

You will find many other examples by simply typing "most cheaply" in the "books" section of Google.

P.S. I found this interesting sentence from a report issued in 1879 by the British Parliament: "The advance in sugarmaking has been paralysed in those countries where sugar can be most cheaply made." ["Most cheaply" precedes the verb.]
 

Matthew Wai

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/
I could find only one example there: '... who can raise capital most cheaply...'

Does 'doesn't work' mean 'grammatical but unnatural' on this forum?

Not a teacher.
 
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TheParser

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

I could find only one example there.

Mr. Wai:

If a person is able to access the Google search engine, s/he should simply type in "most cheaply" and then click on "books." There are reportedly 40,000 examples.

James
 
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Tdol

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Re: Is the phrase "at the cheapest price" able to abbreviate to "the cheapest"?

Because your searching for most cheaply (the two words, not necessarily together), and TheParser searched for "most cheaply" (the two words together). However, results do vary-I got almost twice as many results as TheParser for the same search.
 
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