this appliance/this type of appliance/refrigerators/it

[I'm a Chubby Baby]

Hi, everyone. Please help me with the bold part please.

Almost no households were refrigerator owners in 1920. However, this appliance/this type of appliance/refrigerators/it showed the greatest increase in ownership, and by 1980 there was already a refrigerator in every household.

 

[emsr2d2]

In my opinion, you don't need that entire section at all.

Almost no households had a refrigerator in 1920. However, that rapidly changed and by 1980 every household had one.

 

[I'm a Chubby Baby]

In my opinion, you don't need that entire section at all.

Almost no households had a refrigerator in 1920. However, that rapidly changed and by 1980 every household had one.

Thanks, emsr2d2, but I'm trying to make comparisons. The question asks us to make comparisons where relevant. Besides, it didn't happen that rapidly. It took 60 years.

Almost no households had a refrigerator in 1920. However, it showed the greatest increase in ownership and by 1980 there was one in every household.

I feel the bold doesn't sound natural.
I noticed you changed my underlined part. What's wrong with it?

 

[GoesStation]

Almost no households had a refrigerator in 1920. However, it showed the greatest increase in ownership and by 1980 there was one in every household.

I feel the bold doesn't sound natural.

The problem is that "it" has no antecedent. Try Ownership increased rapidly until, by 1980, there was one in every household.

 

[I'm a Chubby Baby]

Almost no households had a refrigerator in 1920.

Is my version "almost no households were refrigerator owners in 1920" natural?
I want to vary my language by using the word 'owners'. I already used something like yours to describe the other two appliances.

 

[emsr2d2]

You can use "refrigerator owners" but it wouldn't be what most native speakers would say. We probably wouldn't refer to households either.

In 1920, almost no one owned a refrigerator.

 

[I'm a Chubby Baby]

You can use "refrigerator owners" but it wouldn't be what most native speakers would say. We probably wouldn't refer to households either.

In 1920, almost no one owned a refrigerator.

Thanks, do you mean I should use the verb 'own' with people, but use the verb 'have' with 'households'?

In 1920, almost no one owned a refrigerator.
In 1920, almost no households had a refrigerator. (Also, why households not household? )

 

[GoesStation]

Thanks, do you mean I should use the verb 'own' with people, but use the verb 'have' with 'households'?.

In 1920, almost no one owned a refrigerator. In 1920, almost no households had a refrigerator.

Yes.

(Also, why households not household? )

"No households" = zero households. Zero is plural.

 

[probus]

To me "... almost no household ..." is acceptable although less common than the plural.

 

[I'm a Chubby Baby]

Try Ownership increased rapidly until, by 1980, there was one in every household.

Almost no households had a refrigerator in 1920. However, that rapidly changed and by 1980 every household had one.

The chart is about electrical appliance ownership. What if some households had two refrigerators? Is this plural version correct?

Almost no households had refrigerators in 1920. However, ownership increased rapidly and by 1980 they were in every household.

 

[emsr2d2]

It's grammatically correct but not natural. Very few people have more than one fridge, even now. In 1920, it was probably unimaginable.

 

[I'm a Chubby Baby]

It's grammatically correct but not natural.

Thanks.
Almost no households had refrigerators in 1920. However, ownership increased rapidly and by 1980 they were in every household.

Are both the red and green unnatural, or only the red unnatural? I understand the red is unnatural because it is a negative sentence.

Is this positive sentence natural?
40% of households had washing machines in 1920.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks.
Almost no households had refrigerators in 1920. However, ownership increased rapidly and by 1980 they were in every household.

Are both the red and green unnatural, or only the red unnatural? I understand the red is unnatural because it is a negative sentence.

Is this positive sentence natural?
40% of households had washing machines in 1920.

I'd use "no households had a refrigerator" in the red part and "there was one in every household" in the green part.

I'd say "40% of households had a washing machine in 1920" for your final sentence. Yours suggests that each household had more than one.