Meaning of 'crop'

[joriens]

Test No. incompl/inter-6 "The Farmer and his Sons", question 10

Clearly their father had been a wise man because all the work the sons had done on the land ensured that they had the best ......... for years.

(a) gathering
(b) yielding
(c) crop
(d) production

Test No. incompl/inter-6 "The Farmer and his Sons", answer 10

Clearly their father had been a wise man because all the work the sons had done on the land ensured that they had the best crop for years.

Correct answer: (c) crop

Your answer was: incorrect
Clearly their father had been a wise man because all the work the sons had done on the land ensured that they had the best production for years.
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what does crop mean?

joriens

[Alan]

This means the collection of the fruit or grain.
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English as a Second Language
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[Christina328]

[Christina328]

[Alan]

Hi Christina328,

The word crop has to be used here because it refers to what the farmer's sons harvested after all their hard work. Production isn't clear because you would have to say what the production consisted of.

Alan
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English as a Foreign Language
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[Haihao]

Hi,

Is it the 'icing on the cake' to use crops for 'for years'?

haihao

[Yankee]

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Could you reword your question, Haihao? I don't understand what you're asking.
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Haihao]

Hi Amy,

I am sorry for the confusion. What I wanted to ask was if crops would be better because it is followed by 'for years'.

haihao

[Yankee]

Thanks, Haihao

Yes, you can use 'crops' to talk about the same crop over many years and/or if the farmer grows a variety of different things. Saying "the best crop for years" could mean "better than anyone else's crop during a period of years.

'Crop for years' also could also have another, more informal meaning. In informal usage, "for years" is sometimes used instead of "in years" and if that were the intended meaning, then the sentence would refer to one single crop in one year that is better than any of the other crops in previous years.

Amy
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English