Yuuichi Tam
. Could you teach me the meaning of "as many a one has been."? I came across this sentence " There once lived a king and a queen as many a one has been.". This is from English fairy tales. I couldn't understand the meaning of "as many a one has been". Could you teach me the meaning?
May 19, 2016 6:54 PM
Answers · 6
I don't fully understand what 'a one' refers to. The next line in the story explains that they were married for a long time. Does 'a one' refer to a married couple? "There once lived a king and a queen as many a married couple has been." Does 'a one' refer to being either a king or queen? "There once lived a king and a queen as many either a king or queen has been." I agree with Merlyn that the author is probably saying that the king and queen are similar to other kings and queens that have lived before. This is an old Scottish story from the 1800's. It's possible that the grammar is not accurate or is different than what we would expect to see today.
May 19, 2016
There have been may kings and queens such as these that have lived before
May 19, 2016
Thank you for your comment.
May 20, 2016
As to the grammar of this, "one" can be used to refer to both at the same time, as in "many a one queen and many a one king"
May 19, 2016
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