Tuesday, October 30, 2007

I am a 24-year-old student.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,

A 24-year-old student? An undergraduate even? How pathetic is that!

The first sentence sounds grammatically improper but is it really wrong?

No, the sentence (as absurd as it might sound because a 24-year-old should already be working) is actually grammatically correct.

When a numerical quantity is used as an adjective, the letter 's' which accompanies the plural form of a noun is omitted.

So, a student who is 24 years old is also a 24-year-old student. A lecture which takes 3 hours to finish is a 3-hour-lecture and a pass, which grants you access for 3 days is called a 3-day-pass and not a 3 days pass.

Allah knows best.

1 comment:

Hantu said...

adakah grammar bahasa inggeris sama dengan bahasa melayu. Sebagi contoh: membaca, dibaca, dibacakan. how to traslate in english? saya berhadapan terlalu banyak masalah grammar dlm bahasa inggeris. how to solve this problem? please help me

Disclaimer: I am neither an English native speaker nor a qualified English teacher.