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 #2 (permalink) Sat Oct 08, 2011 5:02 am kind of |
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He's kind of a sarcastic. ====> Sarcastic is an adjective, so it should be: He's kind of sarcastic.
What kind of a flower is this ?====> This one is correct. "The article a/an is usually dropped after sort of, kind of and type of, but structures with articles are possible in an informal style"-----taken from Practical English Usage by Michael Swan. |
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 Ruifeng
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| #3 (permalink) Sat Oct 08, 2011 10:15 am kind of |
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Mr. Beeesneees,
Are the answers of Mr. Ruifeng correct.
Please comment.
Thanks. |
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Allifathima
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| #4 (permalink) Sat Oct 08, 2011 14:03 pm kind of |
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Yes, they are.
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Beeesneees
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| #5 (permalink) Mon Oct 10, 2011 1:28 am kind of |
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Mr. Beeesneees,
1.
instead of saying "He's kind of sarcastic."
can I say: "He's a kind of sarcastic" ?
Which is better?
2.
For "What kind of flower is this ?"
can I say: "What a kind of flower is this ?"
Please comment |
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Allifathima
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| #6 (permalink) Mon Oct 10, 2011 1:42 am kind of |
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No you cannot use the article in either of those sentences
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Beeesneees
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| #7 (permalink) Mon Oct 10, 2011 5:04 am kind of |
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Mr. beeesneees,
I have seen the following sentence somewhere in the web.
"It is a kind of dog."
Is it wrong? |
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Allifathima
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| #8 (permalink) Mon Oct 10, 2011 7:51 am kind of |
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Hi,
'A kind of dog' suggests 'similar to what a dog looks like' and is acceptable. 'He's kind of sarcastic' suggests 'He's a little bit sarcastic'.
Alan
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Alan
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| #9 (permalink) Mon Oct 10, 2011 7:53 am kind of |
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No, that is not wrong.
The difference is that 'dog' is a noun. 'Sarcastic', which you chose to use in your example statement, is an adjective.
In your second sentence about the flower, the article is misplaced. The word order changes in a question.
It is a kind of <noun>.
What kind of a <noun> is this?
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Beeesneees
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| #10 (permalink) Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:21 am kind of |
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Hi,
To develop what I said above, 'kind of' (in contrast to 'a kind of') suggests 'to a certain extent'. This can be used both with an adjective or a noun as in: He's kind of foolish/He's kind of a fool.
Alan
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| on/for | past simple or continuous |
