dragn
Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Posts: 450
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 Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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The result of the football match is really annoying.
I agree. Our team shouldn't have lost the two scores.
My question is whether I should replace "points" with "scores" in this sentence. |
Since this question apparently deals with soccer ("football match" = soccer on both sides of the Atlantic), I was kind of waiting for one of our British friends to take this one. However, in spite of being a Yank and hopelessly ignorant of all things soccer, I'll give it the old college try. 
It seems to me you have bigger problems here than simply choosing between the words points and scores. First of all, I may be a Yank, but I know that in soccer you score goals. Not only that, but you don't lose a goal. I think I know what you mean, but we would probably say
Our team shouldn't have given up/allowed those two goals. (those, not the)
Note that different sports use different terms for scoring. For example, in baseball you score runs, not points. The word score is most often used as a verb, and points is a noun referring to what you score: that is , you score points. As a noun, the word score most often refers to a play that results in the scoring of points. For example, in American football, a score might be a field goal (3 points) or a touchdown (6 points).
As it is, you're in a no-win situation with this question. Even if you change it to
Our team shouldn't have given up/allowed those two _______.
...I can imagine contexts in which either points or scores would be acceptable. There exist situations where you can give up points, and situations where you can give up scores (plays that result in the scoring of points by your opponent). If you wrote this, just be aware that the noun scores cannot normally be used with the same meaning as points. If it was written by someone else, be aware that that person doesn't have a clue how to talk about sports in English. 
Hope this helps.
Greg |
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