the use of "of "

[Anonymous]

Dear Teachers,

So far, the usingenglish.forum has helped many learners of English.Thanks to great teachers : Ronbee, Casiopea.tdol,Mikeand a few others.

Teachers!, I need your help again to see whether the following is correct :_

A Singapore badminton player won a record 12 gold medals in a competion. Can I re-phrase the sentence like this : A singapore badminton player won a record of 12 gold medals. Is the " preposition "of " ( after the word record ) necessary in the above sentence ? Thanks.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Dear Teachers,

So far, the usingenglish.forum has helped many learners of English.Thanks to great teachers : Ronbee, Casiopea.tdol,Mikeand a few others.

Teachers!, I need your help again to see whether the following is correct :_

A Singapore badminton player won a record 12 gold medals in a competion. Can I re-phrase the sentence like this : A singapore badminton player won a record of 12 gold medals. Is the " preposition "of " ( after the word record ) necessary in the above sentence ? Thanks.

First, thanks for the nice words about UsingEnglish. Red and TDOL have done a marvelous job in providing the opportunity for great interactions between students and teachers.

As to your question, I would say "not quite". In the first use, "record" is being used as an adjective. The player then has won "medals". One doesn't reall "win" records. One sets records, holds records, etc., but wins competitions, games, medals, etc. One could say that the player set a record of 12 gold medals.

 

[RonBee]

What Mike said. :wink:

In the second sentence, "won a record" makes me think of "record" as some kind of an object, which is, of course, not the case here.