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Fri 17 Oct, 2003 02:10 am
I read the sentence below somewhere, does it work?
It lies to W city. It is convenient both by water and by land or by air.
(1) "By air" works, so "by water" and "by land" work too?
(2) I don't get what "lies to W city" means.
TIA
It's an incomplete sentence, and not very clear, but my guess would be that it means that the destination spot is west of the city it is near, and that it is easy to get to either by boat, plane or car.
Hi cavfancier,
"By air" is a customed phrase, so it works. "Boat" means "A relatively small, usually open craft of a size that might be carried aboard a ship". In fact, from that area to W city needs 2-4 hours trip when by ship or by car, while by boat is usually unsafe and unsuitable.
both by water and by land or by air.
This points out an interesting bit of usage. The repetition of the "by" is necessary because of where the "both" is located in the sentence.
It is convenient both by water and by land or by air.
If the sentence were worded in the following way, then only one "by" would be necessary.
It is convenient by both water and land or air.
I highly appreciated the sentence "It is convenient by both water and land or air." It sounds so professional!
Thank you Roberta.