[Grammar] this or these

[Heidi L]

"We'll be learning more about the artist in this/these a couple of days' lessons."

Do we use 'this' or 'these' in the above sentence?

Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

Where did you find this sentence?

It doesn't make sense with either this or these.

 

[Heidi L]

I heard it on radio. Maybe I heard it wrong, I know it was meant that we will be learning about the artist in the following couple of days' lessons.

What would you say to make it more sense?(I have a feeling that my this sentence is a little weird, could you please correct it too?)

 

[Tdol]

The following would work better for me.

 

[emsr2d2]

Or "... the next couple of days' lessons".

 

[Heidi L]

Thank you, Tdol and emsr2d2.

I've noticed that there were a few mistakes in my post #3 sentences.

1. I heard it on the radio, not on radio.
2. to make a sentence more sensible, or suitalbe, not make it more sense.

Am I right?

I also have a question, if I didn't hear something on the radio or from somebody correctly, can I say "I heard it wrong?" or can we say it other ways?

 

[Tdol]

can I say "I heard it wrong?"

You can. You could also use mis-heard.

 

[Heidi L]

You can. You could also use mis-heard.

Thank you, Tdol. Maybe I should have asked, is it natural to say "I heard it wrong"?

I have the question because to me "I heard it wrong" sounds like Chinese-English. Sometimes, as a foreigner, we can say something, people can understand but it's just not natural, which I should avoid.

 

[Heidi L]

I have listened to the teacher's words (in the mp3 file below) several times, and found that perhaps it is said "we're be learning about Kieron Williamson in this couple of days' lessons," not "this a couple of days' lessons." If this is the case, is it a good sentence or does it make sense to you?

Thank you.

 

[Tdol]

I have the question because to me "I heard it wrong" sounds like Chinese-English. Sometimes, as a foreigner, we can say something, people can understand but it's just not natural, which I should avoid.

It's natural English. I heard it wrongly would be less natural. ;-)

 

[Heidi L]

It's natural English. I heard it wrongly would be less natural. ;-)

Thanks, Tdol.

What about "I'll be very busy in this couple of days?" Does it sound natural to you?

 

[Rover_KE]

I'm not Tdol, but I'm pretty sure he'd say 'no'.

 

[Heidi L]

One more thing please. Just curious, could you please listen to the mp3 file in post #9 and tell me whether the teacher is saying this or these? Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

Sorry. I tried, but I couldn't make it out.

 

[Heidi L]

It's OK, Rover_KE, thank you very much.

Although "this couple of days" isn't good English, it reminds me of one of my confusions; do you consider "I don't like these kind of shoes" or "I don't like this kinds of shoes" correct English?

 

[GoesStation]

It's OK, Rover_KE, thank you very much.

Although "this couple of days" isn't good English, it reminds me of one of my confusions; do you consider "I don't like these kind of shoes" or "I don't like this kinds of shoes" correct English?

You should say this kind of shoes or these kinds of shoes, but many Americans freely use the other two.

 

[bubbha]

Thanks, Tdol.

What about "I'll be very busy in this couple of days?" Does it sound natural to you?

Your main problem is your use of "in". You should remove it here.

A case could be made for either "this" or "these". I (an American) feel that "these" is more natural here: "I'll be very busy these couple of days."

But I think it's even more natural to say:

"I'll be very busy these next few days."

 

[Heidi L]

Ha! Now I see where my problem is, the redundant use of in. Thanks for all your help. I'm also very glad to hear that either these or this is acceptable in certain cases.

 

[Tdol]

Singular and plural is one of the areas where there is a lot of difference among the variants of English. In the example above, I would probably use the next, but if I had to choose, then I would be more likely to use this. (I'm a British English speaker.)