Hello Clive,

Thank you for your input. However, I now feel uneasy.

If some uncountable abstract nouns can become countable depending on context and some cannot (i.e., forever stay uncountable), then what is the trick or the rule of thumb that I can use to separate them ?
If Google hits certainly contain errors; then what sources can we, ESL learners, rely on ?

If I may ask you directly, what have you done to know for sure that a word is an abstract noun - and it is uncountable in some instances, while in other instances it is countable? I would appreciate if you can walk me through the steps. Thanks in advance.

By the way, I looked into New World Dictionary of The American Language, College Edition and found this: advice n. 1. opinion given as to what to do or how to handle a situation; counsel  - 2. [usually plural] information or report [diplomatic advices] ! So advice can take a plural form and  advice is opinion, but advice is uncountable while opinion is countable  (Yoong Liat said so earlier).

"The more you know, the more you know you don't know."

CIAO,
Hoa Thai

Hi again,

If some uncountable abstract nouns can become countable depending on context and some cannot (i.e., forever stay uncountable), then what is the trick or the rule of thumb that I can use to separate them ? I'm inclined to think there is no such trick. That's why learning a language is not a simple task.

If Google hits certainly contain errors; then what sources can we, ESL learners, rely on ? I strongly recommend reading as widely and as much as you can. You also need to check the source of what you read, eg a recognized author who has had some success, a well-known newspaper or magazine. The internet is full of errors and unreliable sources, eg there are legions of blogs by people with terrible English alongside other sources that are excellent and reliable.

If I may ask you directly, what have you done to know for sure that a word is an abstract noun - and it is uncountable in some instances, while in other instances it is countable? I would appreciate if you can walk me through the steps. I don't have a good answer for that. I know the things I know because I have always read a lot. Thanks in advance.

By the way, I looked into New World Dictionary of The American Language, College Edition and found this: advice n. 1. opinion given as to what to do or how to handle a situation; counsel  - 2. [usually plural] information or report [diplomatic advices] ! So advice can take a plural form and  advice is opinion, but advice is uncountable while opinion is countable  (Yoong Liat said so earlier). Definition 2 sounds very odd to me. Perhaps it is trying to speak of what I mentioned earlier as confirmation of a completed transaction. I don't know.

"The more you know, the more you know you don't know." Yes, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's better than thinking that you know everything.

I don't mean to sap your confidence or make you uneasy. If you say 'Thank you for the good advices', it is not really a huge error. People will understand your meaning and will certainly not judge you harshly. So, my advice is to relax and to be patient about these matters.

If you have any more questions, on this or any other topic, please post them and we'll try to help.

Clive

Dear Clive,

I can see your thoughfulness and patience via your reply. Please accept my appreciation.

Would you please look at http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/roundup-11-important-student-tips-and-advices.html and share with me your opinion why the author pluralized 'advice'? From such an organization, the author must be considered a literated person who also should have others to review his work too.

About your advice to read a lot from excellent sources, I have been trying. However, if the authors of those excellent sources had given exactly the same advice if they had been posed with the same question, then eventually it would come to a point where a person or a group of persons must have agreed on certain principles of how a word should take on a specific behavior (or could they have actually agreed among themselves and denounced others who have different opinions and eventually the rest of the world just give in and all live happy ever after? , just kidding). I am trying to find out those principles (accepting the rightness of excellent resources without exploring what makes them right and by just simply believing in them does not feel right to me).

Again, thank you for your encouragement and to others for their replies. I really like this forum. My English skill can only be better!

Have a nice day,
Hoa Thai

Hi,

Would you please look at http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/roundup-11-important-student-tips-and-advices.html and share with me your opinion why the author pluralized 'advice'?

I looked at this site, briefly. I don't know why the author used 'advices'. Why don't you ask him?

I saw a few other things that make me feel the writer may not be a native speaker.

Clive

Hi,

Would you please look at http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/roundup-11-important-student-tips-and-advices.html and share with me your opinion why the author pluralized 'advice'?

I looked at this site, briefly. I don't know why the author used 'advices'. Why don't you ask him?

I saw a few other things that make me feel the writer may not be a native speaker.

Clive