Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[nawee]

Hello,

Can you help me with this sentence?

"The beginning consonant(s) [has/have] an r or l."

I want to say that there are two scenarios:
1. The beginning consonant is an r or l, OR
2. The beginning consonants are clusters with either an r or an l.

Thank you.

Nawee

[dragn]

I think you're in danger of getting a little carried away with this "condensed logic" business. Why not just come right out and say what you mean, like you did in your explanation? At least that was clear:

"The beginning consonant is an r or an l, or a cluster containing an r or an l..."

Nothing you say is going to be any clearer than that.

Greg