a 13-hour train ride" vs. "a 13-hour train" vs. "13 hour's train

[shanialiketoask]

The Dragon Boat Festival is special to the Chinese, people will try their best to come back home and and get together during the festival. Sure , my parents took ( ) home this year. It was quite tiring.
May I know which one is correct in the blank, "a 13- hour train ride", "a 13-hour train" or "13 hour's train"?

 

[heypresto]

Is this a test question? With multiple choice questions we always ask you to say first which option you think is correct.

 

[shanialiketoask]

_
Is this a test question? With multiple choice questions we always ask you to say first which option you think is correct.

A. 13 hours' B. 13-hour's C.13 hour's D.13-hour
The answer is A, and I think it's correct, which means a journey of 13 hours taking by train. Since there is a similar sentense in our textbook which goes that "So his parents took a 24-hour train and a 5-hour bus ride to get to school ", I wonder whether it is ok to use "a 13-hour train" or "a 13-hour train ride" here?

 

[heypresto]

Are you saying that the 'correct' sentence is supposed to be "Sure, my parents took 13 hours' home this year."? It's not at all correct.

Your second suggestion would be correct here: My parents took a 13-hour train ride home this year.

 

[shanialiketoask]

Is this a test question? With multiple choice questions we always ask you to say first which option you think is correct.

Are you saying that the 'correct' sentence is supposed to be "Sure, my parents took 13 hours' home this year."? It's not at all correct.

Your second suggestion would be correct here: My parents took a 13-hour train ride home this year.

What about " My parents took 13 hours' train home this year. "? The train just referred to the vehicle they took during the journey.

 

[User With No Name]

"So his parents took a 24-hour train and a 5-hour bus ride to get to school "

This sentence is possible (although I don't think it's very good) because the word "ride" is present after "bus." It is understood to mean "a 24-hour train [ride] and a 5-hour bus ride...."

On its own, "a 24-hour train" is not possible, at least with this meaning.

 

[PaulQ]

What about " My parents took 13 hours' train home this year. "?

This does not work in BE. Trains have no dimension of time - journeys, trips, flights, voyages, etc., all possess time.

This is a 300 metre train.
This is a 300 kph train.
This is a 300 tonne train.
This is a 3 hour/hours' train.

 

[shanialiketoask]

This does not work in BE. Trains have no dimension of time - journeys, trips, flights, voyages, etc., all possess time.

This is a 300 metre train.
This is a 300 kph train.
This is a 300 tonne train.
This is a 3 hour/hours' train.

Thank you, Paul. It really helps.