language discussions from longman website

[مستر وليد السيد]

There are useful topics concerning grammar and usage on longman website which I think of great importance

What about discussing them together?

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Let's start with this point:

Is it correct to say "Nora is the shorter of the two girls"?
SenderRahmah Atef PositionStudent

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Yes. When we are comparing only two things, some people prefer the comparative rather than the superlative. However, it is also possible to use the superlative because we are comparing members of a group, even if the group has only two members. And of course we always use the superlative when comparing three or more.
Nora is the shorter of the two girls.
Nora is the shortest of the two girls. (not acceptable to some)
Nora is the shortest girl in the class.
In real life, native speakers often use the superlative when comparing only two things, especially in informal speech. Some think that this is incorrect and that the comparative must be used.
A question of this sort should not appear on an exam because there are two possible answers. Students have been taught that when they see the, they must use the superlative. But which of the rules would an examiner follow -- that the comparative must be used when only two things are compared, or that the must be followed by the superlative? This would be an unfair question on an exam.

Waiting your fruitful comments

[مستر وليد السيد]

Sender Atef Ahmedteacher

I don't know why I tend to using the superlative in this sentence. Maybe because of the article "the" or because the preposition "of". So I think it sounds more normal if we say: Nora is the shortest of the two girls. Anyhow I will try to find proof for my point of view.
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Editor's reply:
It has nothing to do with "the" or "of". This simply teling us that there are two girls, Nora is one of them.
As I said before, many people do use the superlative here, but others believe it is wrong to use the superlative when only two things are being compared. I don't know what the people who write and grade the exams think on this issue, so I think it is safer to be conservative here. Use the comparative when you are comparing only two things/people or when you are comparing one thing/person to a group.
Nora is the taller of the two girls.
Nora is taller than Samia.
Nora is taller than the other girls in her class.|
Nora is the tallest girl in her class.

[مستر وليد السيد]

Sender Atef Ahmed teacher

In Michael Swan's Practical English Usage, seventeenth impression 1989 page 144 (comparatives and Superlatives), I read the following:
The comparative is used to compare things or people that are separate from each other. The superlative is used to compare one member of a group with the whole group (including that member). Mary's nicer than her sisters. Mary's the nicest of the four girls in the family. In the first sentence, Mary is not one of the three sisters; we use the comparative. In the second sentence, Mary is one of the four girls that we are talking about; we use the superlative.
Isn’t our sentence similar to the second one here regardless of the number of people compared with? I’m sorry for my persistence.
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Editor's reply:

The sentence first asked about is simiilar except that there are only two people in the group. This is a point of grammar on which there is disagreement and, as I said in my first reply, I don't know which way the examiners will go on this, so it is best to teach the students to be conservative on this point, i.e. to use the comparative when only two things or people are being compared.
In Practical English Usage, 3rd ed. (2005), page 116, Swan says:
When a group only has two members, we sometimes use a comparative instead of a superlative.

I like Betty and Maud, but I think Maud's the nicer/nicest of the two.
I'll give you the bigger/biggest steak;: I'm not very hungry.

Some people feel that a superlative is incorrect in this case.

[Mr Mosaad El Hegazy]

Great Great Great Keep in up

[مستر وليد السيد]

Sender Atef Ahmedteacher

With all my heart, I thank you for this great effort which I deeply appreciate. In fact, I have a modest suggestion, you sometimes say "I don't know what the people who write and grade the exams think on this issue," so why isn't there some sort of cooperation between you and those people becasse this sort of sentence can be included in the final exam. Thank you.
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Editor's reply:

There is some cooperation between us and the MoE at some levels, but we do not write or correct the exams

Another question concerning the same point

If I am comparing two things or people, should I use the comparative or the superlative? For example, "Hussien is not as old as Peter. Peter is the older of the two." Or should I say "Peter is the oldest of the two?"

SenderDina PositionStudent

Most careful writers use the comparative when they are comparing only two things. When I was in school years ago, we were taught that we had to use the comparative for two and the superlative for three or more.
In spoken language, many people do use the superlative for only two things, but other people consider this to be incorrect.
I think what is confusing you is the use of the with the comparative. We usually use the with the superlative (but see here and here and here), but that does not mean that we cannot use the with a comparative. Please see here for more discussion of this issue.

[مستر وليد السيد]

From Sec 2 Unit 8 Vocabulary on this website:

If you put twenty pounds away in a safe place every week, after some years you will have quite a lot of _____.
(a) valuable (b) savings (c) earnings (d) money

Your answer is (b) savings. Why isn't it "money"?

SenderAbdou PositionStudent

Savings is a more specific word here. But the exercise has now been edited so that there is only one clear answer. See the edited exercise here.

[مستر وليد السيد]

What is the difference between "part" and "a part"?

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SenderAhmed Imam PositionTeacher

Part is usually countable, but when it means a piece of something or a member in an organization or in some other uses, the article a is usually dropped before part of if there is no adjective.

She is part of the team that is developing a new security system.
She is an essential part of the team that is developing a new security system.

Is Slovenia part of the European Union?

Part of my car got dented in an accident.
A small part of my car got dented.
I need to buy a part to fix the car brakes. (Here part means one of the separate pieces of a machine. The article cannot be dropped.)
Please see "part" in LDOCE for more.

[Mr. Ahmad Refat]

الف شكر مستر وليد ـ موضوع جميل ياريت يستمر ان شاء الله

[El Sayed Siam]

دائما تأتى بالروائع يامستر وليد بارك الله فيك شكرا جزيلا

[Mr. Medhat Salah]

Great effort

[Hamada Sabra]

موضوع روعة روعة روعة

هيوفر علينا وقت كبير بس لو يستمر يبقى شيء عظيييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييم

[مستر سعيد دراهم]

موضوع رائع وياريت تستمر فيه يا مستر وليد

[ابوعبدالله محمد]

جزاك الله خيرا مستر وليد موضوع فعلا في وقته

[secret enemy]

موضوع جميل يا مستر وليد . يا ريت فعلاً يكمل .
و هو ده وقته فى الاجازة : عشان اللى عنده تعليق على شىء يكتبه و نناقشه.

[مستر وليد السيد]

Prepositions

what follows a preposition?

Can "during" be followed by v + ing or a noun only?

Sender : Ahmed Position: Student

During is a preposition. It can only be followed by a noun or noun phrase: during the summer, during lunch, etc.

Sometimes the ing-form acts like a noun. It is then called a gerund. During can sometimes be followed by a gerund, for example ; During filming, the main actor had an accident. But this doesn't work with all gerunds (I can't say "during eating"). So you may see such gerunds in your reading, but it is best to avoid them in your own work unless you're sure that the usage is correct.

Sender mahmoud s.teacher

Kindly suggest any references to deal with these problems

Sender Editor

In this particular case, any dictionary will tell you that "during" is a preposition, and prepositions must be followed by nouns. I don't know of any reference that would define which gerunds would work after this preposition. That is one reason why it is best to teach your students to avoid a gerund in this position.