Anonymous  +  606297 Sat, 06 Dec 08 04:24 AM Hi, 1.with what does the article go? The word 'staggering' or some other one? Is this similar to 'an extra ten dollars/ten percent' in phrasal pattern? A staggering fifty-two dollar bills were contaminated ... 2.Why is there no hyphen after 'bug' to make the whole adjective in a pattern of a suspended hyphen use? All the above currency, whethe bug (why not -- 'bug -'??) or dirt-ridden, still finds its way into the pockets of people .. 3. Don't we need the preposition 'to' after the word leading? I know we don't need 'to' for this though: I don't know where he is going.    I don''t know where it is leading (to??) .   Anonymous Articles, Prepositions, Hyphens

	Clive  +  606331 Sat, 06 Dec 08 05:55 AM Hi, 1.with what does the article go? The word 'staggering' or some other one? It goes with the phrase 'fifty-two dollar bills', because the speaker/writer is regarding this as 'a single amount' Is this similar to 'an extra ten dollars/ten percent' in phrasal pattern? Yes. A staggering fifty-two dollar bills were contaminated ... 2.Why is there no hyphen after 'bug' to make the whole adjective in a pattern of a suspended hyphen use? One reason is that in modern English we tend to use fewer hyphens. Another reason is that some peope are uncomfortable about leaving 'a word' ending in a hyphen, like bug-. In veyr formal writing, I'd write it in full, eg' bug-ridden or dirt-ridden', or say it in some other way. Actually, I'm not sure that 'dirt-ridden' sounds like a real word. Why not just say 'dirty'? All the above currency, whethe bug (why not -- 'bug -'??) or dirt-ridden, still finds its way into the pockets of people .. 3. Don't we need the preposition 'to' after the word leading? I know we don't need 'to' for this though: I don't know where he is going.    I don''t know where it is leading (to??) .  No, you don't need 'to'. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,657 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 Articles, Prepositions, Hyphens