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Total
I read this sentence and it confuses me:
"Consumption of coffee in USA totals in 4 Kg per person." "USA totals"-what does it mean? Thanks for explanation!
"Consumption of coffee in USA totals in 4 Kg per person."
"Totals" in this sentence is the main verb. The subject is "consumption of coffee in USA"
If "totals" is the main verb in that sentence (which I agree it is), then isn't the word "in" redundant ?
《《If "totals" is the main verb in that sentence (which I agree it is), then isn't the word "in" redundant ?》》
How can it be redundant Consumption (of coffee) (in USA) ... Comsumption (what kind) (where) ...
Forget the knob head verbs. You could use it in another example where if you bought something from off the internet and looked at the price it would say " Total amount due " So you pay that and no more.
Yes, "Total", that use would make "total" an adjective. But your example wasn't the sentence being asked about.
I guess the verbal form "totals in" could be used by analogy with "weighs in".
The fact that "USA" is preceded by "in" (a preposition) is a big clue that "USA" goes with the prior part of the sentence, rather than being the subject of "totals". BTW, besides there being an extra "in" (I don't think that "redundant" is quite the right word; "redundant" and "extra" don't mean quite same thing), it's also more standard to say "the USA" rather than just "USA". Also, kilogram is abbreviated "kg". No capital "k".
And "weighs in" should have an "at" after it. But that analogy has problems beyond that. If you really want a preposition with "total", it should be "to".
>>"Consumption of coffee in USA totals in 4 Kg per person."<<
Consumption of coffee in the USA averages 4 kg per person. I'd leave out the second 'in' (as Quintus suggests), put a the' in front of 'USA' (as Another Guests suggests), and replace 'totals' with 'averages' because this is really an average (or use 'is'). Here's the source -- http://tinyurl.com/32o7v7q
>>"redundant" and "extra" don't mean quite same thing>>
Fair enough, A. G., but I meant "redundant" only in the sense of a pleonasm or an unnecessary detail. >>If you really want a preposition with "total", it should be "to">> Yes, or perhaps "totals up to" - that sort of thing. However, I believe Foxie has improved upon the original.
>>it's also more standard to say "the USA" rather than just "USA">>
I had assumed the OP was quoting a headline, so I thought nothing of the absence of the definite article.
The "in" before 4 is not only redundant, it is totally wrong.
Total in the example sentence is a verb. |