In The Library
(A) In libraries, some students read newspapers or magazines and others study.
(B) In libraries, some students read a newspaper or a magazine and others study.
Do you think both sound natural?
I'd appreciate your opinions!
(B) In libraries, some students read a newspaper or a magazine and others study.
Do you think both sound natural?
I'd appreciate your opinions!
- 6
- 2
- 0
Journals Statistics
| Total | 495 entries |
|---|---|
| This Month | 0 entries |
| This week | 0 enrties |
Latest entry
| A World Discovered By Wearing Glasses (5) |
| Before I Arrived ... (6) |
| The First Time (4) |
| After a Long Time (2) |
| To Start / To Start On (5) |
Latest comments
| Apr 26th tony |
| Apr 25th :-) |
| Apr 17th tony |
| Apr 16th tony |
| Apr 16th tony |
Entries by Month
| 2012 |
|---|
| - April (6) |
| - March (7) |
| - February (24) |
| - January (32) |
| 2011 |
| - December (20) |
| - November (23) |
| - October (20) |
| - September (18) |
| - August (10) |
| - July (26) |
| - June (20) |
| - May (7) |
| - April (5) |
| - March (14) |
| - February (4) |
| - January (10) |
| 2010 |
| - December (5) |
| - November (11) |
| - October (5) |
| - September (6) |
| - August (2) |
| - July (6) |
| - June (6) |
| - April (9) |
| - March (3) |
| - February (4) |
| - January (22) |
| 2009 |
| - December (13) |
| - November (16) |
| - October (31) |
| - September (26) |
| - August (13) |
| - July (18) |
| - June (9) |
| - May (28) |
| - April (16) |

(1) Each student who is not reading a book is reading a newspaper or a magazine.
(2) Each student who is not reading books is reading newspapers or magazines.
(1) is more natural, although (2) is still correct. Here we are talking about what each student (singular) is reading, so the "what is being read by all of the students collectively" interpretation is ruled out. Also, the verb tense "is ... reading" focuses attention on what is happening right now, and right now it is unlikely that a single student is reading more than one newspaper or more than one magazine (although reading more than one book at a time is plausible when studying something). Thus "is reading a newspaper" is more likely than "is reading newspapers." However, "is ... reading" can also be used for what happens during an extended period of time including the present moment, so (2) is not impossible.
Ah yeah! That is exactly what I wanted to know!!
And your examples (1) and (2) are very enlightening.
It is so surprising that (2) can be ordinarily used.
Thanks a million!