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in good shape

azz

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Persian
a. She is in too good shape to play the role of a corpulent old lady.
b. He is in too good shape for me to beat him at tennis.

c. She is in too good a shape to play the role of a corpulent old lady.​
d. He is in too good a shape for me to beat him at tennis.​

Which of the above are grammatically correct?
Which are natural?

Many thanks.​
I don’t like any of them. 👁 Frown :(


But if I had to choose, I would pick a. and b., not c. and d. I think it’s because we say “in good shape,” not “in a good shape.”
I don’t like any of them. 👁 Frown :(


But if I had to choose, I would pick a. and b., not c. and d. I think it’s because we say “in good shape,” not “in a good shape.”

I agree.
I don't like any of them, azz, I'm sorry to say.
My misgivings are based on the use of the idiom 'to be in good shape', which means to be physically fit, as far as I know. It has nothing to do with physical appearance.

Of course a very fit actress could play the role of a 'corpulent old' woman who is not physically fit. That rules out a) and c).

Sentences b) and d) seem to imply that the speaker is not as physically fit as his opponent.
I don't think a native speaker would express that idea in the way you propose.
Re b & d, someone can be in excellent shape (physical condition) and still be lousy at tennis (or any given sport).
I don't like any of them, azz, I'm sorry to say.
My misgivings are based on the use of the idiom 'to be in good shape', which means to be physically fit, as far as I know. It has nothing to do with physical appearance.

Of course a very fit actress could play the role of a 'corpulent old' woman who is not physically fit. That rules out a) and c).

Sentences b) and d) seem to imply that the speaker is not as physically fit as his opponent.
I don't think a native speaker would express that idea in the way you propose.
I'm not a native speaker too,but I learned c,d are correct because of using a,but when I Google it a,b were correct
I think a,b are correct because of a
👁 Confused :confused:
What does because of a mean, please?

a. She is in too good shape to play the role of a corpulent old lady.
b. He is in too good shape for me to beat him at tennis.

I am a native speaker. To me, neither of these is correct usage or 'natural'.
That's because 'shape' doesn't necessarily have anything to do with physical appearance.
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I don't like any of them, azz, I'm sorry to say.
My misgivings are based on the use of the idiom 'to be in good shape', which means to be physically fit, as far as I know. It has nothing to do with physical appearance.

Of course a very fit actress could play the role of a 'corpulent old' woman who is not physically fit. That rules out a) and c).

Sentences b) and d) seem to imply that the speaker is not as physically fit as his opponent.
I don't think a native speaker would express that idea in the way you propose.
I'm so sorry for making mistake I got it
👁 Confused :confused:
What does because of a mean. please?



I am a native speaker. To me, neither of these is correct usage or 'natural'.
Ok ,I didn't read it carefully
Hello, gisoo, By "because of a" did you mean "because of the use of an indefinite article ['a']"?
a. She is in too good shape to play the role of a corpulent old lady.
b. He is in too good shape for me to beat him at tennis.

c. She is in too good a shape to play the role of a corpulent old lady.​

d. He is in too good a shape for me to beat him at tennis.​

Which of the above are grammatically correct?​
Which are natural?
I would say that A and B are grammatically correct, and C and D are natural (ie, commonly heard).
I would say:

“She is the perfect shape to play the role of a corpulent old lady”.
“He is in too good a shape for me to beat at tennis”.
<Question has been added to thread by moderator (Florentia52)>

a. They are in too bad shape to be able to do it.
b. They are in too bad a shape to be able to do it.
c. They are in too bad shapes to be able to do it.

Which of the above are grammatically correct?

Many thanks.
Last edited by a moderator:
Really? I would put too bad a shape as the grammatical version. As in too high a price, etc.
Thank you both so much.

Really? I would put too bad a shape as the grammatical version. As in too high a price, etc.

As far as I can see, native speakers have different takes on this. I thought 'too bad a shape' was problematic, because they were not all in the same shape. They're all in bad shape, but not to the same extent necessarily.

Many thanks.
That’s not comparable, lingobingo, because “shape” isn’t countable in this expression.

It seems that there’s an American-British divide here. British English speakers seem to accept the version with “a” even though “shape” is not countable here.
It seems that there’s an American-British divide here. British English speakers seem to accept the version with “a” even though “shape” is not countable here.
Plenty of Americans seem happy to use it too. These are just a few examples:

“Aw, honey, you can't talk to Sid. He's in too bad a shape.” (Tales from Kentucky Lawyers, 2010)

The dog wasn't in too bad a shape, and the hair grew back to normal. The porch had caught fire (Growing Up Around Tombstone, 2013)

2009 headline, quoting a Democratic candidate: Heidepriem says state finances not ‘in too bad a shape’
Perhaps it’s colloquial, as RM says. I can see that. I certainly would not use it in a formal context.
Perhaps it’s colloquial, as RM says. I can see that. I certainly would not use it in a formal context.
👁 Thumbs Up :thumbsup:
I hear things like He's in too bad a shape often, but the indefinite article sounds casual or wrong to me.
He's in....

good shape
very good shape
extremely good shape
too good shape
bad shape
very bad shape
extremely bad shape
too bad shape
I am late to the party, BUT

the "a" in question in C & D is correct, hearing it as a native speaker, ONLY because it is preceded by "too good" or "too bad" or "too old," for example.

Re-ordering the sentence, it would be "She is in a shape too good to portray a decrepit old pensioner." So when you turn it around, you get "She is in too bad (too bad WHAT?) a shape to play Venus."

Hard to explain, but from my hearing and speaking, I believe the "a" is needed and correct.

A similar example: "It is too late an hour to think of going for a swim." Phonetically, it would sound atrocious to say, "...too late hour to think of eating." So, it could be just phonetics, with no other logic behind it.
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