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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 3/24/2017
Posts: 1,603
Neurons: 7,558
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Hello respected teachers,
Is the following sentence grammatical?
His eyes resembled a fish's.
Or should it read as:
His eyes resembled those of a fish.
Another question:
Is resemble a word you, native speakers, use in your everyday speech? What else would you suggest to substitute for 'resemble' in the given sentence above?
The custom of speaking is the original and only just standard of any language. Joseph Priestly- Rudiments of EG, 1761.
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 6/14/2009
Posts: 14,382
Neurons: 44,788
Location: Brighton, England, United Kingdom
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In written work your second sentence is more likely to be used; and yes, it's grammatically sound.
In spoken English we'd probably use the first sentence - in spoken language the question then of its grammatical construction disappears.
Yes 'resemble' would be used in everyday conversation by some people. Most people in spoken English, however, would use "looks like" i.e. "His eyes look like a fish's."
Hint again: spoken English is not formal: for everyday conversations we choose the simplest option.
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 7/21/2017
Posts: 129
Neurons: 696
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'spoken English is not formal'. I will never forget this "Formula One".
Just because the writer of an article is British doesn't mean that they use English correctly-DragOnspeaker.
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 6/14/2009
Posts: 14,382
Neurons: 44,788
Location: Brighton, England, United Kingdom
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Islami - good! It's one of the most common mistakes learners make.
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