Timeline for In formal writing, is there any difference between "couple" and "some"?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
12 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Apr 18, 2013 at 21:58 | comment | added | David Aldridge | @yzT If there are 4, 5, or more then I'd certainly not say "a couple" then. | |
| Apr 18, 2013 at 21:48 | comment | added | user29020 | @DavidAldridge I haven't said there are only two. They may be 4, 5, 6...this is just an example. | |
| Apr 18, 2013 at 19:44 | comment | added | David Aldridge | I'm wondering whether "Experience in ..." ought to be "Experienced in ...", or "Experience of ...". I'd prefer the former. Also, if there are only two then why not name them? | |
| Apr 17, 2013 at 22:48 | comment | added | Brian Hooper | You might care to have a look at this related question. | |
| Apr 17, 2013 at 18:29 | comment | added | tchrist♦ | Pretty please stop using backticked monospace on ELU. | |
| Apr 17, 2013 at 18:29 | history | edited | tchrist♦ | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
deleted 3 characters in body
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| Apr 17, 2013 at 18:16 | answer | added | Patrick Quinn | timeline score: 1 | |
| Apr 17, 2013 at 15:58 | comment | added | user29020 |
Ok, I'll use some then.
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| Apr 17, 2013 at 15:41 | comment | added | user32047 | To me, "a couple" sounds informal even when it means exactly "two." I'd use the noun "couple" in formal writing only to mean two people who are paired together. | |
| Apr 17, 2013 at 15:14 | comment | added | Mitch | In formal language, a couple refers to -exactly- two items. Informally is where the number can get slippery. | |
| Apr 17, 2013 at 14:31 | comment | added | John Lawler | Some is suitable for any context; a couple, when it simply signifies a few, is too informal, and possibly inaccurate, because it can be interpreted literally as a minimum requirement of no more than two. A few is better and less informal. | |
| Apr 17, 2013 at 14:21 | history | asked | user29020 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |