man on the subway who uses an/the latest iPhone

[I'm a Chubby Baby]

Hello, everyone. Where should I put 'on the subway'. Also, should I say a or the latest iPhone?


In an Apple commercial, the young man on the subway who is useing an/the latest iPhone looks so cool.
In an Apple commercial, the young man who is using an/the latest iPhone on the subway looks so cool.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hello, everyone. Where should I put 'on the subway'? Also, should I say a or the latest iPhone?


1. In an Apple commercial, the/a young man on the subway who uses an/the latest iPhone looks so cool. I don't find this position natural.

2. In an Apple commercial, [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] a young man who [STRIKE]uses[/STRIKE] is using [STRIKE]an/[/STRIKE] the latest iPhone on the subway looks [STRIKE]so[/STRIKE] very cool.

See above. I don't think the point is that he's on the subway. The point is that he's using his mobile on the subway! I don't know about anywhere else in the world but, in London, there's practically no signal on the Underground. I've just seen a news report saying that there is a plan for full coverage on the Underground by 2024.

 

[GoesStation]

The point is that he's using his mobile on the subway! I don't know about anywhere else in the world but, in London, there's practically no signal on the Underground. I've just seen a news report saying that there is a plan for full coverage on the Underground by 2024.

The Paris Metro has had mobile signal for years. I've never noticed anywhere in the network where I've lost it.

 

[emsr2d2]

The Paris Metro has had mobile signal for years. I've never noticed anywhere in the network where I've lost it.

I am, as the "yoof" are wont to say, well jel!

 

[I'm a Chubby Baby]

Thanks, everyone. Do you think using two 'a/an' in a row doesn't sound good?

In an Apple commercial, a young man who is using the latest iPhone on the subway looks very cool.

 

[GoesStation]

Thanks, everyone. Do you think using two 'a/an' in a row doesn't sound good?

In an Apple commercial, a young man who is using the latest iPhone on the subway looks very cool.

It's perfectly natural.

 

[GoesStation]

I am, as the "yoof" are wont to say, well jel!

Let's see …. That would be youth and really jealous, right?

 

[probus]

The Paris Metro has had mobile signal for years. I've never noticed anywhere in the network where I've lost it.

I think it's a matter of geology. My city is built on granite so our subways are built with the cut and cover method, and we can have wi-fi. London is built on clay and the tunnels of the Tube are mostly very deep. Therefore no wi-fi on London Underground.

 

[emsr2d2]

Let's see …. That would be youth and really jealous, right?

Yoof = youth
jel = jealous
well = very/extremely/really/incredibly

The last isn't a sort of play on the first syllable of "really". "Well" has been used as a replacement for many positive intensifiers for quite some time. In the 1980s, people who were seen as tough (in terms of fighting) were referred to, by some, as "well hard". Commonly, the "h" would be dropped from "hard", leading to "well 'ard". A character in the soap EastEnders had a dog called "Wellard", named after that very phrase.

 

[GoesStation]

I think it's a matter of geology. My city is built on granite so our subways are built with the cut and cover method, and we can have wi-fi. London is built on clay and the tunnels of the Tube are mostly very deep. Therefore no wi-fi on London Underground.

Mobile signals can't penetrate into any underground rail tunnels. They have very short wavelengths which can't get through more than a thin layer of steel or concrete. Systems that provide mobile coverage in stations and carriages do so with micro-cells located in the trains, tunnels, or stations. It takes 3,000 antennas to provide 4G coverage in the whole of the Paris Metro. Line 12 is 25 meters/82 ft below the surface at the Lamarck - Caulaincourt station and has perfectly usable mobile coverage.

Wifi is also a high-frequency and thus short wavelength signal with the same issue. If you have wifi in your subway system, it's provided by access points located in the network.

 

[jutfrank]

To get back to the question—you may have missed emsr2d2's answer in post #2. You have to keep the verb phrase using the latest iPhone connected to the place phrase on the subway together. This is not a question of naturalness so much as meaning.

 

[Glizdka]

Not a teacher. Just asking a question.
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Which do you prefer?

1. A young cool-looking man is using the newest iPhone on the subway in an Apple commercial.
2. A cool-looking young man is using the newest iPhone on the subway in an Apple commercial.

 

[probus]

It depends on which feature you want to emphasize. The first adjective is the more important. So 1 emphasizes his youth and 2 the fact that he looks cool.

 

[GoesStation]

Number two is the usual order. Number one provides extra emphasis to the young man's youth.

 

[emsr2d2]

I wouldn't say "cool-looking". I'd just use "cool".

A cool young man is using the latest iPhone in the subway, in Apple's current ad.

I have added a comma towards the end to avoid "the latest iPhone in the subway in an ad" being taken as one unit. I prefer the word order in your original post, starting with "In an Apple commercial".