ohmyrichard
Member
- Joined
- May 24, 2008
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- Chinese
- Home Country
- China
- Current Location
- China
Dear teachers,
Please help me with this language issue. If I want to add "respectively" to the sentence of "They have two children aged six and nine", then will all the following versions be right?
1. They have two children aged six and nine respectively.
2. They have two children respectively aged six and nine.
3. They have two children aged respectively six and nine.
The original sentence of "They have two children aged six and nine" is taken from Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. And in this dictionary at the entry of "respectively" there is an example going "Julie and Mark, aged 17 and 19 respectively". So, I think Version 1 is correct. But I am not sure of Versions 2 and 3. Are they both also correct? I consulted my Collins COBUILD English Usage Dictionary but got nothing useful in this regard.
Besides, if I add another two words "who are" to the original sentence and say "They have two children who are aged six and nine respectively", does this new version sound natural to your native ear? Do you native speakers of English think this addition of "who are" is totally unnecessary in this situation?
Please help me with this language issue. Thanks.
Please help me with this language issue. If I want to add "respectively" to the sentence of "They have two children aged six and nine", then will all the following versions be right?
1. They have two children aged six and nine respectively.
2. They have two children respectively aged six and nine.
3. They have two children aged respectively six and nine.
The original sentence of "They have two children aged six and nine" is taken from Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. And in this dictionary at the entry of "respectively" there is an example going "Julie and Mark, aged 17 and 19 respectively". So, I think Version 1 is correct. But I am not sure of Versions 2 and 3. Are they both also correct? I consulted my Collins COBUILD English Usage Dictionary but got nothing useful in this regard.
Besides, if I add another two words "who are" to the original sentence and say "They have two children who are aged six and nine respectively", does this new version sound natural to your native ear? Do you native speakers of English think this addition of "who are" is totally unnecessary in this situation?
Please help me with this language issue. Thanks.