Is this sentence correct or not? -------- It’s thought that there is as much as 10 times the amount of gas in methane hydrates than in shale for instance. ------------ This sentence is from a BBC

yhemusa

Is this sentence correct or not? -------- It’s thought that there is as much as 10 times the amount of gas in methane hydrates than in shale for instance. ------------ This sentence is from a BBC story on its website. Somebody thought it is incorrect and rewrote it as: ----- It’s thought that there is as much as 10 times the amount of <MORE> gas in methane hydrates than in shale for instance. ---- But I think the revised version is still incorrect and a possible corrected version is: ---- It’s thought that there is as much <GAS> in methane hydrate as 10 times the amount ( of < THAT>) in shale, for instance. But then again, somebody else has come to the original's defence, saying it's correct and perfect. So, dear native Egnlish speakers, what do you think about all these sentences?

Oct 29, 2017 6:41 PM

Answers · 5

All three sentences sound like they were written by non-native speakers. The least bad one is the first one, but in that one I would replace "than" with "as".

October 29, 2017

I agree with Mike. The first one is almost right - it should be "It’s thought that there is as much as 10 times the amount of gas in methane hydrates AS in shale, for instance.". A simpler version of the core of the comparison structure would be '...up to 10 times as much gas in x as in y'. The second is wrong. I've no idea why someone thought that the word 'more' should be there. The third is just confusing. It isn't right and it's unclear what it's trying to say.

October 29, 2017

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