Why is this strange? What first surprised me was his stellar acting skills, but what second surprised me was the enormous efforts he puts towards acting. In this sentence, why should "what second sur

Gil-seop

Why is this strange? What first surprised me was his stellar acting skills, but what second surprised me was the enormous efforts he puts towards acting. In this sentence, why should "what second surprised me" be changed to "the second thing that surprised me"? Don't you say "second" instead of "for the second time"? Or is it because the structure of "what second surprised me" is similar to that of "what first surprised me"? Thanks!

Feb 15, 2016 9:49 PM

Answers · 3

Ahn, I think the person who told you that you need to change this is of the opinion that it sounds better because, as you said, it is similar to "what first surprised me." Personally, I would say, "what further surprised me was...." Or you may reword it to "I was also surprised by the enormous efforts he puts towards acting." These sound more natural to my ears.

February 15, 2016

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