Grammar question
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Which is correct: There is a total of 20 women and children here. There are a total of 20 women and children here. Both sound OK to me. Thanks.
My latest C# extension method: public static bool In<T>(this T value, params T[] values) { return values.Any(v => v.Equals(value)); } Example: bool valid = answer.In("Yes", "No", "Dunno");
IMO, either works for me. I usually go with the first.
"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon
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Don't really trust the MS Grammar checker. :rolleyes:
"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon
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Don't really trust the MS Grammar checker. :rolleyes:
"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon
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I've never really liked the grammar checker. I do look at it when there is some serious grammar mistakes, but usually wind up going my own way that I was taught in English classes in school.
"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon
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Which is correct: There is a total of 20 women and children here. There are a total of 20 women and children here. Both sound OK to me. Thanks.
My latest C# extension method: public static bool In<T>(this T value, params T[] values) { return values.Any(v => v.Equals(value)); } Example: bool valid = answer.In("Yes", "No", "Dunno");
I would add some commas to make it clear There are, a total of, 20 women and children here. The subject is women and children. The commas indicate that a portion of the sentence can be removed. I had to look it up to verify.
http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp wrote:
Use commas to set off expressions that interrupt the flow of the sentence.
[edit] Well, I just got in trouble with a few proofreaders I've used (trained people, not computer programs)... They agree that the commas I put in earlier weren't the best way around the problem. What do you expect after a 60 hour week editing videos? (not my real job) Their suggestion was to either drop "a total of" completely or rework the sentence to "There are 20 women and children here in total." or leave it alone
modified on Saturday, July 26, 2008 6:45 PM
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The word "total" is the subject that must agree with the verb. Some words (such as "majority") can be singular or plural, depending on context. Ex: The majority of the people are here. The majority of the pie is eaten. I don't think the word total is ever plural. You would always say, "The total is [blank]" and never "The total are [blank]"
Data is plural, but "The data ARE conclusive" sounds awful.
------------------------------------ "I want you to imagine I have a blaster in my hand" - Zaphod Beeblebrox. "You DO have a blaster in your hand" - Freighter Pilot "Yeah, so you don't have to tax your imagination too hard" - Zaphod Beeblebrox
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I would add some commas to make it clear There are, a total of, 20 women and children here. The subject is women and children. The commas indicate that a portion of the sentence can be removed. I had to look it up to verify.
http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp wrote:
Use commas to set off expressions that interrupt the flow of the sentence.
[edit] Well, I just got in trouble with a few proofreaders I've used (trained people, not computer programs)... They agree that the commas I put in earlier weren't the best way around the problem. What do you expect after a 60 hour week editing videos? (not my real job) Their suggestion was to either drop "a total of" completely or rework the sentence to "There are 20 women and children here in total." or leave it alone
modified on Saturday, July 26, 2008 6:45 PM
I presume English is not your first language. (Given the Mangling shown in your example).
Brad Bruce wrote:
The commas indicate that a portion of the sentence can be removed
It does no such thing.
Brad Bruce wrote:
There are, a total of, 20 women and children here.
doesn't make sense nor is it good English. The correct use of are and total would be ... There are twenty women and children in total. However I would also suggest that there is a redundancy, as the fact is stated that there are twenty women and children, then that is the total.
------------------------------------ "I want you to imagine I have a blaster in my hand" - Zaphod Beeblebrox. "You DO have a blaster in your hand" - Freighter Pilot "Yeah, so you don't have to tax your imagination too hard" - Zaphod Beeblebrox
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I'd guess "total" in this case would also be a subject, but "There are" refers to the main subject, "20 women and children". It appears to be a matter of emphasis.
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David Lockwood wrote:
There are 20 women here. There is a group of 20 women here (1 group).
Can I come over? ;)
Gary
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David Lockwood wrote:
There were 20 women here, they went shopping with ghle's credit card [Smile]
Now there is a total of one unhappy man and 20 happy women, and 20 large charge-card totals?
Gary
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I presume English is not your first language. (Given the Mangling shown in your example).
Brad Bruce wrote:
The commas indicate that a portion of the sentence can be removed
It does no such thing.
Brad Bruce wrote:
There are, a total of, 20 women and children here.
doesn't make sense nor is it good English. The correct use of are and total would be ... There are twenty women and children in total. However I would also suggest that there is a redundancy, as the fact is stated that there are twenty women and children, then that is the total.
------------------------------------ "I want you to imagine I have a blaster in my hand" - Zaphod Beeblebrox. "You DO have a blaster in your hand" - Freighter Pilot "Yeah, so you don't have to tax your imagination too hard" - Zaphod Beeblebrox
Dalek Dave wrote:
However I would also suggest that there is a redundancy, as the fact is stated that there are twenty women and children, then that is the total.
Not really. There are 20 women and children could mean there are 20 women and an undisclosed number of children.
Take a chill pill, Daddy-o .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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Dalek Dave wrote:
However I would also suggest that there is a redundancy, as the fact is stated that there are twenty women and children, then that is the total.
Not really. There are 20 women and children could mean there are 20 women and an undisclosed number of children.
Take a chill pill, Daddy-o .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
Hoist with my own Petard! Well done, I had not considered that fact. have a 5 for being a smartass :)
------------------------------------ "I want you to imagine I have a blaster in my hand" - Zaphod Beeblebrox. "You DO have a blaster in your hand" - Freighter Pilot "Yeah, so you don't have to tax your imagination too hard" - Zaphod Beeblebrox