ever

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

Please read the following sentence:

There were a number of professors at the meeting, few of whom I had ever heard of.

This sentence means I had heard almost none of them. Am I right?

Another question is we can't use 'some' and 'many' with 'ever'. Am I right?
For example, I can't say 'There were a number of professors at the meeting, some of whom I had ever heard of'. The reason is that 'ever' should be used in interrogative or negative sentences while some can be used in positive and interrogative sentences. Am I right?

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Have a nice weekend.

Jiang

 

[MikeNewYork]

Dear teachers,

Please read the following sentence:

There were a number of professors at the meeting, few of whom I had ever heard of.

This sentence means I had heard almost none of them. Am I right?

No, unless you left out the word "of" by mistake. "To hear someone" is to hear that person speak. "To hear of someone" is to be aware of that person's existence/reputation/contributions. Your sentence would have been correct if you had written, "I had heard of almost none of them."

Another question is we can't use 'some' and 'many' with 'ever'. Am I right?
For example, I can't say 'There were a number of professors at the meeting, some of whom I had ever heard of'. The reason is that 'ever' should be used in interrogative or negative sentences while some can be used in positive and interrogative sentences. Am I right?

Yes, you are mostly correct. You could say, "There were a number of professors at the meeting, only some of whom I had ever heard of."

:wink:

 

[jiang]

Thank you very much for your explanation and correction. Now I understand them perfectly.

Jiang

Dear teachers,

Please read the following sentence:

There were a number of professors at the meeting, few of whom I had ever heard of.

This sentence means I had heard almost none of them. Am I right?

No, unless you left out the word "of" by mistake. "To hear someone" is to hear that person speak. "To hear of someone" is to be aware of that person's existence/reputation/contributions. Your sentence would have been correct if you had written, "I had heard of almost none of them."

Another question is we can't use 'some' and 'many' with 'ever'. Am I right?
For example, I can't say 'There were a number of professors at the meeting, some of whom I had ever heard of'. The reason is that 'ever' should be used in interrogative or negative sentences while some can be used in positive and interrogative sentences. Am I right?

Yes, you are mostly correct. You could say, "There were a number of professors at the meeting, only some of whom I had ever heard of."

:wink:

 

[MikeNewYork]

Thank you very much for your explanation and correction. Now I understand them perfectly.

Jiang

You're very welcome, Jiang. :wink: