0

In one of my posts (How do I say "a bottle of water" in the colloquial way?), a nice contributor ask me

Why would you think this is not everyday English? Why are you asking about this phrase and not another one?

I answered

Because when I searched "bottles of water" I got lots of water bottles.

By those words, I was trying to describe and emphasize a fact, that is, most of the results for that searching is about bottles rather than water.

I guess my answer is grammatical though, I am not sure whether it is idiomatic. I am also not sure I put the right order to emphasize that fact. Is the following version better?

Because I got lots of water bottles when I searched "bottles of water".

Are there other expressions more appropriate? Could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.

Improve this question
1
  • I'd say the first version is better because it emphasises the search term you were using.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Mar 22, 2020 at 10:42

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

Both versions sound natural and I wouldn't flinch hearing either version from a native English speaker - which would explain why that contributor was confused at the question.

The first version certainly sounds more natural and smoother to me but I'm trying to pinpoint exactly why; I'm unsure if it sounds better for a grammatical reason or if it's simply a smoother train of thought to follow. It helps that it provides the necessary context upfront, at the very least.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .