Is this sentence correct or not? -------- It’s thought that there is as much as 10 times the amount of gas in methane hydrates than in shale for instance. ------------ This sentence is from a BBC

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yhemusa

Is this sentence correct or not? -------- It’s thought that there is as much as 10 times the amount of gas in methane hydrates than in shale for instance. ------------ This sentence is from a BBC story on its website. Somebody thought it is incorrect and rewrote it as: ----- It’s thought that there is as much as 10 times the amount of <MORE> gas in methane hydrates than in shale for instance. ---- But I think the revised version is still incorrect and a possible corrected version is: ---- It’s thought that there is as much <GAS> in methane hydrate as 10 times the amount ( of < THAT>) in shale, for instance. But then again, somebody else has come to the original's defence, saying it's correct and perfect. So, dear native Egnlish speakers, what do you think about all these sentences?

29 okt. 2017 18:41

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Mike Franklin

All three sentences sound like they were written by non-native speakers. The least bad one is the first one, but in that one I would replace "than" with "as".

29 oktober 2017

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Mike Franklin

The phrase "as much as 10 times" means "10 times or less". I'm assuming that the writer is discussing the amount of gas that is present in methane hydrates on Earth compared with gas in shale on Earth. So, for example, if there were one billion tons of gas in shale, then the writer is saying that there could be 10 or 9 or 8 or 7...etc. billion tons of gas in methane hydrates. But this is just my guess. There is not enough context for me to say for sure, and the grammar is a bit too hazy. But I'm curious as to why you would read non-native BBC writers (if that's the case; again, I'm just guessing). IMO, reading non-native writers is not an effective strategy for learning or improving language skills.

29 oktober 2017 · Antwoord

Mike Franklin

So, to further explain "It's thought that there is as much as..." - This is a way of giving an upper bound estimate. A similar example is this: Your accountant asks you to estimate how much you will earn next year. You could answer "From $40,000 to $70,000." Or, alternatively, you could say "I could earn as much as $70,000, or as little as $40,000. "as much as..." as used in the original quote is similar in usage to "as little as...", "as high as...", "as low as...", etc. For example, if a weatherman wants to give a lower bound temperature for tomorrow's weather, he might say "The temperature could get as low at -10°C tomorrow."

30 oktober 2017 · Antwoord

La Liseuse

I agree with Mike. The first one is almost right - it should be "It’s thought that there is as much as 10 times the amount of gas in methane hydrates AS in shale, for instance.". A simpler version of the core of the comparison structure would be '...up to 10 times as much gas in x as in y'. The second is wrong. I've no idea why someone thought that the word 'more' should be there. The third is just confusing. It isn't right and it's unclear what it's trying to say.

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29 oktober 2017

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