Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Marrion]

[1] Many a student is here with us.
[2] Many students are here with us.
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Do "[1] and [2]" have the same meaning?

[lotus]

Hi Marrion,

No they don't.

Usually when you say "many a", you mean each and individual one. When you say "many", you mean "a lot of."

1) Many a nights have I tossed and turned in bed.
2) I have tossed and turned in my bed many nights.

#1 and #2 sound like they say the same. But, you can imagine in #1 how each and every night I couldn't sleep. In #2, you just know that I couldn't sleep many times.

Since you're probably trying to convey that a lot of students (as a whole) are with you, your sentence #2 is more correct.


--lotus

[Marrion]

I got it!!! Thank you sir very much.

Have a nice day, sir!!