ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: variable noun usage

CalifJim — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:57:29 GMT

Anonymous
What would you think of someone if ... ?

1 or 2 or both. It would depend on my mood.

Re: variable noun usage

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:23:09 GMT

Thank you. What would think of someone if that person used 'rejections' in the previous context outlined??

1. OK, I will just pass it over as something that happens occasionally just like life.
2. Think of him or her as uneducated.
3. Might recommend him or her to see a reference book or possibly recommend him or her to visit his or her teacher for a lesson on proper usage.

Re: variable noun usage

CalifJim — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:49:47 GMT

Only the singular is idiomatic.

They are afraid of rejection. They are afraid of being rejected.

The concept is general. I don't believe the speaker would want to refer to the fear of multiple individual acts of rejection in this speech.

variable noun usage

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:19:32 GMT

Hi,

Would you use the word 'rejection' or 'rejections' here?
Let us pretend that this is a start of a short speech. I don't particularly feel the same way. This is used ask for the purpose of asking a question.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have timid men around us who are afraid to voice their opinions -- afraid that they might encounter caustic comments that might hurt their fragile male sensitivities. They are afraid of rejections (or rejection??). These men need to change their perspectives on their lives and need to do so as soon as possible.

1.Do you feel either choice is OK? If so, why?
2.Do you feel only the general 'rejection' is OK? If so, why?
3. Do you feel the specific 'rejections' use is OK? If so, why is that? I don't seem to see explicit context, either preceding or following, that calls for this use of the specific nature.