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Expression: " Students are permitted..."



 
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Sentences for "word meanings" | More from: "First Love" '2'
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Expression: " Students are permitted..." #1 (permalink) Mon Jul 24, 2006 20:41 pm   Expression: " Students are permitted..."
 

Hi

At the top of one English paper the following line was written:

" Students are permitted to use dictionary."

I suppose it should be a dictionary since it is no newspaper heading.

What do you think???

Tom
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Expression: " Students are permitted..." #2 (permalink) Mon Jul 24, 2006 20:47 pm   Expression: " Students are permitted..."
 

Hi Tom

Using "a" would be correct, but at the tops of forms, etc. it's not unusual for a shortened form of English to be used sometimes. However, I think the "truer" short form would have been: Students permitted to use dictionaries.

Amy
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Expression: " Students are permitted..." #3 (permalink) Tue Jul 25, 2006 14:01 pm   Expression: " Students are permitted..."
 

Hi Tom

Here is you "twin post" of this question. :lol:

You'd think that particularly on an English paper they'd have decided to use a full sentence. ;)
Maybe it was just a typo. It happens.

Amy
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Expression: " Students are permitted..." #4 (permalink) Tue Jul 25, 2006 18:18 pm   Expression: " Students are permitted..."
 

Hi Tom,

In front of any countable nouns, there is always either an article or an adjectif or a possessive.
So,in my opinions, at the grammar rule, your mentioned sentence can be written in 4 ways:

Students are permitted to use a dictionary.
Students are permitted to use their dictionary. (I see sometimes this case in newspapers).
Students are permitted to use their dictionaries.
Students are permitted to use dictionaries.

"Dictionaries" means "all dictionaries".
If "a" is dropped, it is not right in traditional grammar but it is right in a newpaper style.

Khanh
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