We have partnered with TradePub to bring you free industry magazines and resources - no coupons or credit cards required!

Visit: englishforums.tradepub.com


Share this topic:
This question is Not Answered
Latest post Sun, Oct 25 2009 4:24 AM by Clive. 1 replies.
Suggest an answer | | |
Bn77  +  952138 Sun, 25 Oct 09 04:08 AM
The flight to Toronto, Canada, is fully booked, but we'll surely come in touch with you if there are any __.
(A) cancelled
(B)cancelling
(C)cancel
(D)cancellations

(D) sounds perfectly OK to me to complete the sentence above and I know that it's the only answer.

But I don't know how I can explain why (C)-"cancel" is ruled out. Grammatically the word 'cancel' can used as a noun and it also means "cancellations" according to the dictionary.


Joined on Sun, Jun 3 2007
Junior Member 69
Clive  +  952154 Sun, 25 Oct 09 04:24 AM
Hi,

The flight to Toronto, Canada, is fully booked, but we'll surely come  get/be in touch with you if there are any __.
(A) cancelled
(B)cancelling
(C)cancel
(D)cancellations

(D) sounds perfectly OK to me to complete the sentence above and I know that it's the only answer. True.

But I don't know how I can explain why (C)-"cancel" is ruled out. Grammatically the word 'cancel' can used as a noun and it also means "cancellations" according to the dictionary.

Can you please quote the entry in your dictionary that indicates this can be a noun meaning 'cancellations'? Perhaps you have misinterpreted it.

 

My dictionary quotes two cases where 'cancel' can be a noun.

1, an order revoking a previous one.

2. the cancellation of a postage stamp.

I've never heard #1, and #2 is obviously a very specifc usage. Neither seems relevant to your example.

 

Finally, consider this. The phrase '. . . if there re any _____' obviously needs to be followed by a plural word.  Option D is the only plural choice available.

 

Best wishes, Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004
Canada
Veteran Member 29,585
El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo
© MediaCet Ltd. 2009, v5.0.3607.32596. All content posted by our users is a contribution to the public domain, this does not include imported usenet posts.*
For web related enquires please contact us on webmaster@mediacet.com, status updates are available at status.mediacet.com.
*Usenet post removal: Use 'X-No-Archive'. You may not have understood that your posts would end up in the public domain. Please send proof of the poster's email, we will remove immediately.