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 #2 (permalink) Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:43 am a whopping 110 miles |
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Hello Tofu,
In this case, the word 'whopping' refers to a specific amount. The speaker feels 110 MPH is impressively fast, so 'whopping' should modify the number/the complete amount, not just the word(s) 'miles (per hour)'.
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 Esl_Expert
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| #4 (permalink) Tue Jun 22, 2010 5:10 am a whopping 110 miles |
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Hi Tofu
One very significant difference in that sentence is that the word 'a' is missing. :)
You might compare the sentence in your first post to this sentence:
- He spent an extravagant five hundred dollars on that bottle of wine.
That basically means 'he spent an extravagant amount of money'.
The word 'extravagant' does not describe 'dollars' but rather comments on the amount of money.
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You cannot say this:
- He spent a five hundred extravagant dollars on that bottle of wine.
If you remove the word 'a' from the sentence above, then the only possible location for the word 'extravagant' would be after the number.
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| #5 (permalink) Tue Jun 22, 2010 5:32 am a whopping 110 miles |
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Thank you, EE, but I'm confused.
Wrong: The car sped by at a 110 whopping miles per hour.
Correct: The car sped by at 110 whopping miles per hour.
Correct: The car sped by at a whopping 110 miles per hour.
Am I correct? |
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Tofu
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| #6 (permalink) Tue Jun 22, 2010 5:40 am a whopping 110 miles |
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| Quote: |
| Wrong: The car sped by at a 110 whopping miles per hour. |
Yes, that one is wrong.
| Quote: |
| Correct: The car sped by at 110 whopping miles per hour. |
This version is theoretically possible, but it would be unusual.
| Quote: |
| Correct: The car sped by at a whopping 110 miles per hour. |
This is the version I would expect.
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| #7 (permalink) Tue Jun 22, 2010 8:27 am a whopping 110 miles |
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Hi Tofu,
After all this, I wonder why you are still 'confused'. You have given the definition of 'whopping' -
| Quote: |
| informal : very large, impressive, etc |
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It's just like any other adjective and so you put it nearest to the noun you want to qualify. So how can you possibly say:
| Quote: |
| 110 whopping miles |
? Surely a mile is a mile, isn't it?
Alan
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