Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Yukineko]

Hello, teachers. I'm studying English writing. Could you help me?

The textbook says, "As a result, this dreadful epidemic killed about a third of all Europeans of those days."

How about this one?
"As a result, a third of the whole population in Europe lost their lives because of this horrible epidemic."

Are there any errors in my sentence? If any, could you tell me what I should have expressed it?

Thanks in advance.
Yukineko

[Hayde]

I would say
"As a result, a third of the whole population of Europe lost their lives because of this horrible epidemic."
But it sounds a little "long winded" (not quite natural) to me.

For the textbook sentence, the end part "of those days" sounds strange to me, but I can't be sure. Anyone else can help with this one.

[lotus]

You're right Hayde, the last part sounds weird. I would say:

"As a result, this dreadful epidemic killed about a third of all Europeans during that time."


--lotus

[Yukineko]

Hello Hayde and lotus.

Thank you for answering my question.
I didn't know that the answer of the textbook itself was incorrect.
I really appreciate your help!
Yukineko