Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[steven2000]

You cannot beat the Brick and the Brick.com.

Is that sentence correct?

[redset]

Well I don't know what 'the Brick' is, but the sentence tells me that whatever it is it can't be beaten! Actually the sentence could be changed subtly and the meaning would change with it - can you explain exactly what you mean to say, and I'll suggest if anything needs to be changed?

[steven2000]

Thanks.

'The Brick' is a store that sells a variety of merchandise. The 'brick.com' is the online store. The sentence in question (given below) is a advertising caption for the shop.

"You cannot beat the Brick and the Brick.com"

Should the 'and' be replaced with 'or' ? Or is the above sentence correct? For each scenario i.e., with 'and' and 'or' what would be meaning of the sentences?

Thank you again.

[redset]

If it's called 'The Brick' then be sure to capitalise the T in The. And be really sure to remove the space if the website is thebrick.com - there are no spaces in web addresses, and the way it's written I'd have gone to www.brick.com. (Is this your business/slogan or is it just something you saw and wondered about?)

You can use or if you like - usually you would if you were talking about two separate things. You can use and too, which gives the impression that 'The Brick' and 'thebrick.com' are strongly connected, so you're thinking about them as two parts of a single business, and that business can't be beaten. You'd use or when you want to emphasise that they are independent entities to a degree, so it's all about the meaning you want to convey.

[steven2000]

Thank you !!!