※ 引述《davidwu0123 (說出來嚇死你)》之銘言：
[nom nom nom the above]
: 1.in vs. of
: I'm always confused about which one should I use.
: For example,
: "the clubs of the school are excellent.",
: and "the clubs in the school are excellent."
: these two sentences are both no problem for me,
: but I think only one of them is correct,
: so I would like to know how can I know which one is correct.
In your example the problem is usage. Both are strictly speaking grammatically
correct. The difference, if you really want to be nitpicky, would be that
The clubs OF the school show that the clubs belong/are a part of the school,
but may/may not be at the school.
e.g. The clubs of the school are excellent, pity that most of them are
actually located off-campus.
The clubs IN the school show that the clubs are physically in the school
(but may/may not be a part of the school)
e.g. The clubs in the school are excellent, especially the ones run by the
local business association.
Please note that when we're NOT being nit-picky, "of" and "in" in your two
examples are often interchangeable. That is why context is so important in
language.
So, what you choose depends on what you want to say.
: 2.single form vs. plural form
: Taking a sentense for example,
: "We have a pen",
: does this sentense mean that
: "there is only one pen, and we have it."
Yes.
: or that
: "there are three pens.
: I have one, you have one and he has one."?
This would be "We each have a pen."
: I mean, I know we should use plural nouns
: if there are more than one.
: but what if I say "We have pens"?
"We have pens" is a vague sentence that says nothing about the
number of people vs. pens, except that the number of pens > 1.
: It also confuses me because how can I know whether it means
: "I have more than one pen, you have more than one pen,
: and he has more than one pen,
I have pens, you have pens, and he has pens.
: but my pens are mine, your pens are yours, his pens are his",
I have my pens, you have your pens, he has his pens, etc.
: or that
: "There are some pens. They are mine, but they are yours, too."?
These are our pens. Or "Some of these (pens) are yours, some are mine."
(if the pens are mixed together)
: How can I know when should I use plural nouns or single forms?
: I know it's a basic question, but what I want to realise is
: the question I am mentioning.
: If anyone can recommend any book or website that is
: helpful for me to figure out these questions, thank you very much.
I'm not sure a grammar book is what you need, because all the sentences you
are trying to construct are grammatically correct.
--
'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Trying to make ends meet, You're a slave to money then you die
-Bittersweet Symphony, The Verve
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