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Mon 29 Oct, 2007 10:41 am
Wan Xuan is very diligent. This is why she is one of the top students in our class.
Is "one of the top students" correct? I wonder because I feel that there can be only one top student.
Many thanks.
The locution is correct. If one takes into consideration a certain proportion of the "top students," such as the top ten, or the top one third, than certainly it would be both logical, and correct usage, to describe Wan Xuan as one of the top students in the class.
One can either consider "top student" as referring to the single most successful student, or "top students" as a category including all of the most successful students according to a certain criterion--the top ten, the top one third, etc.
The three top students could all have scored 100% on the last exam. How would you differentiate among them?
Many thanks for your replies.
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