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Post by millring on Jun 16, 2020 16:33:27 GMT -5
Sam and Sarah saw seven sharks while swimming. Now how many "S" are in this sentence?
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 16:36:45 GMT -5
Post by coachdoc on Jun 16, 2020 16:36:45 GMT -5
2
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,914
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Post by Dub on Jun 16, 2020 16:42:17 GMT -5
Sam and Sarah saw seven sharks while swimming. Now how many "S" are in this sentence? 3
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 16:43:55 GMT -5
Post by John B on Jun 16, 2020 16:43:55 GMT -5
Depends.
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 16:46:21 GMT -5
Post by billhammond on Jun 16, 2020 16:46:21 GMT -5
1
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 16:52:54 GMT -5
Post by Russell Letson on Jun 16, 2020 16:52:54 GMT -5
As I was going to St. Ives. . . .
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 16:56:09 GMT -5
Post by Village Idiot on Jun 16, 2020 16:56:09 GMT -5
1
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 17:13:26 GMT -5
Post by Russell Letson on Jun 16, 2020 17:13:26 GMT -5
Case sensitive?
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 17:17:16 GMT -5
Post by Village Idiot on Jun 16, 2020 17:17:16 GMT -5
That's what I was thinking.
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 17:20:24 GMT -5
Post by dradtke on Jun 16, 2020 17:20:24 GMT -5
"S" is singular. What's the plural?
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 17:22:19 GMT -5
Post by Marshall on Jun 16, 2020 17:22:19 GMT -5
S's
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 17:23:01 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by aquaduct on Jun 16, 2020 17:23:01 GMT -5
I'm suspecting there's a lot of s in anything John posts.
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 18:14:11 GMT -5
Post by jdd2 on Jun 16, 2020 18:14:11 GMT -5
zero
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 18:32:49 GMT -5
Post by brucemacneill on Jun 16, 2020 18:32:49 GMT -5
1 in that sentence.
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 18:48:01 GMT -5
Post by Chesapeake on Jun 16, 2020 18:48:01 GMT -5
The correct answer is 1 in that sentence.
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 18:48:41 GMT -5
Post by Chesapeake on Jun 16, 2020 18:48:41 GMT -5
Dang. Bruce beat me to it.
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Riddle
Jun 16, 2020 19:53:08 GMT -5
Post by james on Jun 16, 2020 19:53:08 GMT -5
One upper case. Three total?
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Riddle
Jun 17, 2020 5:47:35 GMT -5
Post by millring on Jun 17, 2020 5:47:35 GMT -5
The reason I posted it here is that I was curious how you guys would answer it. It's going around facebook. We all know how riddles work....but they should work, and to my mind, this one doesn't work. This one is like reading a "Who-dunnit" novel, only to reach the last page and the author introduces a new character and pins the murder on him. Or, similarly, you reach the end of the book only to realize you never were given the clue to solve the mystery.
As it appeared on facebook, it read:
To which I replied:
"Since there is no word that one could insert between the words "many" and "is" to correct the grammar ("How many" would require "are" to follow), I'm guessing the trick to the question lies therein.
But if the trick is not the bad grammar, then the answer is 2. "
I was told "no".
So, I did what some of you just did and googled the answer online.
It's interesting. I followed the same logic as the online explanation to come up with 2 and, grammatically speaking, I would say I'm correct. (btw, online the riddle reads correctly with "are" instead of "is").
But I think the solution online is wrong, and here is why:
The trick, of course, is that the word "sentence" only has 1 "s". But the problem with that as a correct answer is that that was not the question as asked. The question as asked is "How many "S" are in this sentence?
Asked that way, you can have either of two answers and neither of them is "1" (which the internet says is correct). And why can't it be 1?
Because in order for the answer to be "1" the question would have to be "How many "S" are in sentence? (of course, in standard English, if you wanted to know the number of "s"s in "sentence" you would ask "How many times does the letter "S" appear or occur in the word "sentence").
Once the inquiry adds "this" to sentence, the structure demands that the "s" in "this" would be included by the inquiry.
The only other answer that would work would be to take the question (still a trick question) as it would be contextually read any other time -- that is, an inquiry to ask for the total number of ses in the sentence -- the sentence, this time being the whole question. In that case the correct answer would be 4.
If the riddle read: "Sentence. Sentence. Sentence. Sentence. Now, how many S's in this sentence?" Then a case could be made that the riddle was in the word "sentence" and the answer was 1. Of course, the riddle would still be implying that there is something unique in the final "sentence" that would spark the question in the first place.
Did I mention that I was once hospitalized after a multiple choice test?
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Post by brucemacneill on Jun 17, 2020 5:55:14 GMT -5
I took it as asking about "this sentence" not the one about Sam and Sarah. There is only 1 capital s in "this sentence".
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Riddle
Jun 17, 2020 6:32:36 GMT -5
Post by millring on Jun 17, 2020 6:32:36 GMT -5
I took it as asking about "this sentence" not the one about Sam and Sarah. There is only 1 capital s in "this sentence". ? There is no capital "S" in "this sentence".
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