F
Fredziu
Senior Member
Polish
- Dec 7, 2014
- #1
Hello,
One of my students wrote this sentence in his paper: I've got a lot of free time because there are summer holidays now in Poland.
Is it correct, or should it be changed to 'it's summer holidays now'?
I think I've heard this phrase used with the subject 'it' and I'm not sure. Could someone help me, please?
owlman5
Senior Member
Colorado
English-US
- Dec 7, 2014
- #2
Hi, Fredziu. "There are summer holidays" looks fine to me, but I don't speak BE. Maybe somebody who does speak BE will check in and tell you whether "there are summer holidays" is okay in that variety of English.
F
Fredziu
Senior Member
Polish
- Dec 7, 2014
- #3
owlman5 said:
Hi, Fredziu. "There are summer holidays" looks fine to me, but I don't speak BE. Maybe somebody who does speak BE will check in and tell you whether "there are summer holidays" is okay in that variety of English.
Thank you for your reply, owlman4. Do you use this phrase interchangeably with 'it's holidays' or would it be incorrect to use 'it' here?
owlman5
Senior Member
Colorado
English-US
- Dec 7, 2014
- #4
You're welcome. I can't really tell you whether "it's holidays" is normal in BE, Fred. "It's summer vacation" is normal in AE.
Last edited:
Cenzontle
Senior Member
English, U.S.
- Dec 7, 2014
- #5
In my (American) English I would say "We're on summer vacation."
D
dharasty
Senior Member
American English
- Dec 7, 2014
- #6
I think either will work (in different contexts), but you have to keep the subject/verb agreement:
"School's out! It's the summer holiday!" -- as if the whole summer is one "holiday"
"I love December: the cold, the snow... and also there are the holidays." -- referring to Christmas and Hanukkah (and sometimes a few others) collectively
(OK: I admit the first one is not common in AE -- most speakers would say "It's summer vacation". But my point is that the grammar sounds right to me that way.)
R
Rover_KE
Senior Member
Northwest England - near Blackburn, Lancashire
British English
- Dec 7, 2014
- #7
I'd say 'I've got a lot of free time because of the summer holidays'.
A
ain'ttranslationfun?
Senior Member
US English
- Dec 7, 2014
- #8
But, Fredziu, in Poland, isn't Christmas/New Year's the
winterholidays (which I believe is GB, as Rover, the only GB speaker to have weighed in as I write this)/vacation (US)? And yes, Cenzotle, "We're on xxxx vacation, but "It's xxxx vacation" sounds OK to me, too.
Loob
Senior Member
English UK
- Dec 8, 2014
- #9
Hi Fredziu
I agree that "there are summer holidays" doesn't work.
As regards "it's summer holidays":
- I'd be inclined to put a direct article in there: "it's the summer holidays";
- while I might well informally
"it's the summer holidays", I don't think I'd write it in a formal essay;
- but perhaps the student's paper was an informal one?
F
Fredziu
Senior Member
Polish
- Dec 8, 2014
- #10
Thank you all for your replies - I do appreciate your help.
As for alternative ways of expressing a particular idea, it's really nice to learn them. And I myself often know how to express something in other words. When I'm marking my students' papers, though, I need to know exactly if what they have written is correct or not, because if it's not, I have to cross it out and provide a correct alternative, and this is the most difficult thing - to decide whether something is acceptable or not. If I correct something that doesn't actually require correction, I might be criticised as well as when I don't correct something that's wrong.
Loob, I'm particularly grateful for your reply as it has cleared up my doubts! Yes, the paper was an informal one or maybe the word 'paper' sounds too serious here as it was only supposed to be an email to a friend, so it was just a minor homework assignment .
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