@bsloan7 Thank you! What about these three? Do Americans use them too?

1. What’s your favorite exercise?
2. What’s your favorite sport?
3. What’s your favorite sports?

bsloan7

2 Dec 2022

English (US)

@studiousboy I’m sure if the conversation is about working out, someone might ask 1. I think “what’s your favorite form of exercise” sounds a little more natural though. 2 is correct and natural, but we don’t say 3 because it’s incorrect. It should be “what are your favorite sports”.

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branduhn

2 Dec 2022

Simplified Chinese (China)

@bsloan7 Ok. Then if I change 3 to this, I think 3 is more common than 2?

2. What’s your favorite sport?
3. What are your favorite sports?

@studiousboy It means I’m no longer a student.

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branduhn

2 Dec 2022

Simplified Chinese (China)

@bsloan7 Thank you! So “in school” means I’m literally a student. What about this blank? Which preposition would you choose, “at” or “in” or “inside”?

This activity is open to all students ____ our school.

bsloan7

2 Dec 2022

English (US)

@studiousboy If I had to choose between those three, I’d say “at”. But really, I think it’d be more natural to just cut out everything after “students”.

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branduhn

2 Dec 2022

Simplified Chinese (China)

@bsloan7 But the activity is only open to students *at our school*. If I cut out everything after “students”, it sounds like students from other schools can take part in the activity, right?

bsloan7

2 Dec 2022

English (US)

@studiousboy Again, you have to think about context when forming sentences.

Who would be saying a sentence like this?
-Someone who works at the school in question

Who would be listening to or reading this message?
-Students who attend the school in question and their parents

So do you see why adding “at our school” is unnecessary now?

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bsloan7

2 Dec 2022

English (US)

And to add, if someone who doesn’t work at/for or attend the school is making this announcement, then saying “at our school” would be incorrect anyway.

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branduhn

2 Dec 2022

Simplified Chinese (China)

@bsloan7 I think there’s a cultural difference in this situation. In Chinese, even though we have a clear context already, it’s totally natural to specify “this activity is open to all students in our school”. We do say “in our school” when making this kind of announcement, even though sometimes we really don’t say it either just like you guys do in English. My native thinking sometimes makes me form some English sentences that native English speakers would find wordy. 😂 The English language hates repetition more than the Chinese language does. I think I’ve mastered the usage of “at school” and “in school”. Thank you very much for all your help!

bsloan7

2 Dec 2022

English (US)

@studiousboy I’m not saying it’s unnatural to include it. Your question was if you cut it out, does that make it sound like students from other schools can participate. And the answer is it doesn’t if you imagine situations where it would be said. So I feel like this has more to do with logic than cultural differences. You can absolutely leave “at our school” in because it’s correct and natural for the most part. I’m sure there are native English speakers who include it just like you would in Chinese. But is it 100% necessary to get your intended meaning across? No 🤷🏽‍♀️

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branduhn

2 Dec 2022

Simplified Chinese (China)

@bsloan7 Ah, I thought it’s not natural to include that part in the English sentence so I kind of thought a cultural difference exists in that field. Now I know. Thank you so much!