conundrum

[Ivan Eubanks]

They built one furniture-making and one meat-processing factory.  Does this work?

Ivan S. Eubanks, Ph. D.
Editor
The Pushkin Review / Пушкинский вестник
http://www.pushkiniana.org

On Apr 30, 2012, at 7:49 PM, Scott Petersen wrote:

> I have a translator friend in Tula who has presented the following conundrum:
>> How to write "They built a furniture-making and meat-processing FACTORIES. 
>> A - singular. 
>> FACTORIES - plural. A and Pl. are incompatible. What's to be done? 
> 
> 
>> Please, try to translate - Они построили кондитерскую и макаронную фабрики. In Russian too there is a snag here. The correct and LOGICAL version is the PLURAL. But then the article A sticks out like a sore thumb. So, what to do? 
> 
> They built a confectionary and a pasta factory.
> They build confectionary and pasta factories.
> 
> The second is ambiguous as to how many factories were built.
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> Scott Petersen
> 
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