2 Oct 2011 — A Couple
How would you improve this sentence?
A couple friends are joining us for lunch.
Click the option(s) that improve the sentence.
1.
A couple are joining us for lunch.
2.
A couple of friends are joining for lunch.
3.
A couple friends stopped by for lunch.
"A couple without of is firmly established in American speech and in general writing (though not the more elevated varieties) when it is used directly before a plural noun or a number word. Before more, a couple is used without of in both British and American English and in this context is often preferred even by American commentators." (M-W 302)
"The type 'a couple weeks later'. i.e. with no of between a couple and weeks, is well established in AmE."
"A couple of = about two is used informally (I'll just tbe a couple of minutes = in approximately two minutes). (Fowler 187)
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1994.Print.
Fowler's Modern English Usage. Ed. R. W. Burchfield. Rev. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print.
