Hi. When reading a piece of text, I sometimes see words that seem uncountable used countably. I have come to realize (if I learned it correctly) -- mainly through these forums -- that an uncountably noun could be used countably if it is used as an instance of type. But some things I see baffle me.

1. There is a deadness somewhere. -- What does it mean? To me, the word like "deadness" denotes a quality and I think most English words that denote qualities are uncountable nouns. Help.

2. It  might be good to rely on alternate amplifications to guide our interpretation of this text. -- What does it mean by "alternate amplifications"? Could we use the word "amplification" in plural?