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Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 21:05:59 +1100
From: cguttman <4everclever4@web.de>
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Subject: Re: plural of "performance"
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Thanks guys!
This was a helpful lesson, I will have to replace the word
"performances" with performance in my thesis.
Chris
Chris Croughton wrote:
> On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 08:29:05 +1100, cguttman
> <4everclever4@web.de> wrote:
>
>
>>Isn't the plural use of performance related to whether it is countable
>>or not?
>
>
> Sort of, but trying to derive it as a rule like that it likely to lead
> to incorrect use.
>
>
>>One can refer to the overall performance of an athlete.
>
>
> Correct.
>
>
>>If one refers to an athlete's specific performance of individual
>>activities, wouldn't it be ok to use performances?
>
>
> No. If one were referring to a gymnastic event then one might say "the
> girl gave two performances of her skills", but that would be referring
> to the occasions not to how well she performed. When referring to her
> scores one would use the singular form, "her performance in the events
> this year was better than last year".
>
>
>>For example,
>>
>>"The 50m and 100m performances of mainland girls in the Asian Games two
>>years ago had prompted ..."
>
>
> No. That sounds as though they were doing dramatic or musical events as
> entertainment.
>
>
>>You would probably not say:
>>
>>"The 50m and 100m performance of mainland girls in the Asian Games two
>>years ago had prompted ..."
>
>
> Yes, we would in English. Although it would be better expressed as:
>
> "The performance of mainland girls in the 50m and 100m categories in
> the Asian Games two years ago had prompted ..."
>
> In English the term 'performances' almost always refers to dramatic or
> musical events, things which are events in themselves and normally
> intended as entertainment, and not measurements.
>
> It is best to regard them as distinct words which happen to have the
> same spelling and pronunciation.
>
> Chris C
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