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pianowill
Joined: 11 May 2009
Location: Bundang
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 Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 12:29 am Post subject: explaining this odd use of the word "number" to te |
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In addition to the elementary kids, I teach an English class once a week to the teachers. They are mostly women and have expressed an interest in fashion. For their homework two weeks ago, I had them read a blog entry on a fashion blog.
This is part of the excerpt, "One wardrobe item which I am totally lacking in would have to be skirts. I have the typical denim mini skirts, vintage fabric skirts and a fifties A-line number somewhere but otherwise, I'm not a huge wearer of skirts as I rather a pair of shorts or a dress. I have a good friend of mine who is just such a sucker for skirts after recently spending well over my typical 'skirt-budget' to buy a mini pencil skirt number."
I absolutely was not able to explain how the blog author used "number" here. It makes sense to me as a native English speaker, but I can't explain when you can use it and when not to. I told the teachers I would find out and tell them this week.
How do I explain why the author said "a fifties A-line number" instead of "a fifties A-line dress?" And the "number" after "mini pencil skirt" isn't even necessary at all, but it's there. And it makes sense.
Anybody have a link to explain this or can you explain it yourself? |
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cazador83
Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 1:15 am Post subject: |
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http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/number
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8. a collection or company.
14. a single or distinct performance within a show, as a song or dance: The comic routine followed the dance number.
23. Informal. person; individual: the attractive number standing at the bar.
24. Informal. an article of merchandise, esp. of wearing apparel, offered for sale: Put those leather numbers in the display window. |
another word you could use might be collection. Simply tell them that while it is the same word it has different meaning |
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aboxofchocolates
Joined: 21 Mar 2008
Location: on your mind
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| Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:40 am Post subject: |
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forget all the other definitions, just stick with number 24, the only definition that fits with the context of your lesson or might be helpful with the direction of your lesson. Unless your lesson is "all the uses of the word 'number'" and I hope it never is, it's not going to be useful to present all those definitions at once. If they can read a text, they know enough about english to know that a word can have more than one meaning. Just tell them it's a different meaning and stick with what they need to know to do what you asked them to. But learn all the other definitions and uses later in case someone has questions after class.
read above as advice, you are an adult in control of your faculties, do what you feel is right. |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:56 am Post subject: |
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| aboxofchocolates wrote: |
forget all the other definitions, just stick with number 24, the only definition that fits with the context of your lesson or might be helpful with the direction of your lesson. Unless your lesson is "all the uses of the word 'number'" and I hope it never is, it's not going to be useful to present all those definitions at once. If they can read a text, they know enough about english to know that a word can have more than one meaning. Just tell them it's a different meaning and stick with what they need to know to do what you asked them to. But learn all the other definitions and uses later in case someone has questions after class.
read above as advice, you are an adult in control of your faculties, do what you feel is right. |
I picked out those other ones as they have a similar meaning to #24 a collection / group / things that share something.
If they are anything like my adult students they will see the informal and focus on that.
off topic you're posting here a lot more, bored or thinking of coming back? |
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aboxofchocolates
Joined: 21 Mar 2008
Location: on your mind
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| Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:09 am Post subject: |
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| blackjack wrote: |
| aboxofchocolates wrote: |
forget all the other definitions, just stick with number 24, the only definition that fits with the context of your lesson or might be helpful with the direction of your lesson. Unless your lesson is "all the uses of the word 'number'" and I hope it never is, it's not going to be useful to present all those definitions at once. If they can read a text, they know enough about english to know that a word can have more than one meaning. Just tell them it's a different meaning and stick with what they need to know to do what you asked them to. But learn all the other definitions and uses later in case someone has questions after class.
read above as advice, you are an adult in control of your faculties, do what you feel is right. |
I picked out those other ones as they have a similar meaning to #24 a collection / group / things that share something.
If they are anything like my adult students they will see the informal and focus on that.
off topic you're posting here a lot more, bored or thinking of coming back? |
B. O. A. R. D. You get the rest pm'd to you. And I'm keeping that misspelling, it's too funny.
Yeah, they are similar, but the only one that really fits is 24. If you start messing with definitions that don't fit with the text, you're moving away from the direction your text was taking the lesson in. Close definitions are the trickiest because we're busy linking them up etimologically. It'll just take students off the topic of the lesson and they won't have a very clear idea of the other uses. |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:40 am Post subject: |
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| aboxofchocolates wrote: |
| blackjack wrote: |
| aboxofchocolates wrote: |
forget all the other definitions, just stick with number 24, the only definition that fits with the context of your lesson or might be helpful with the direction of your lesson. Unless your lesson is "all the uses of the word 'number'" and I hope it never is, it's not going to be useful to present all those definitions at once. If they can read a text, they know enough about english to know that a word can have more than one meaning. Just tell them it's a different meaning and stick with what they need to know to do what you asked them to. But learn all the other definitions and uses later in case someone has questions after class.
read above as advice, you are an adult in control of your faculties, do what you feel is right. |
I picked out those other ones as they have a similar meaning to #24 a collection / group / things that share something.
If they are anything like my adult students they will see the informal and focus on that.
off topic you're posting here a lot more, bored or thinking of coming back? |
B. O. A. R. D. You get the rest pm'd to you. And I'm keeping that misspelling, it's too funny.
Yeah, they are similar, but the only one that really fits is 24. If you start messing with definitions that don't fit with the text, you're moving away from the direction your text was taking the lesson in. Close definitions are the trickiest because we're busy linking them up etimologically. It'll just take students off the topic of the lesson and they won't have a very clear idea of the other uses. |
I wouldn't take any more that a couple of minutes of class time explaining that "number" in a few select situations can mean "collection". If they have any further question and you can be bothered go into detail further via email or after class, the multiple meanings. In my adult class there is always one or two that, if you let them will bog you down in details. |
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pianowill
Joined: 11 May 2009
Location: Bundang
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| Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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cazador83 - wtf?
everyone else - thank you very much for your helpful replies! |
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