noun: remain vs. remainder

[Sweetpumpkin]

Hi,

I have some questions on the difference between remain and remainder.

The president of the company retired last month and decided to spend the _______ of her days helping the poor.

The answer for the blank is remainder. What about remain? Remain, as for a noun, it is usually used as plural. Then, how about 'remains' for the blank? What do you think?

Thanks,
sweetpumpkin

[Torsten]

"Remains" is what is left over from item that has been destroyed. "The remains" can also refer to what is left over from a corpse. So, 'the remains' would not work in your sentence.
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