Search results for 'tag:Abstract nouns tag:Plurals' matching tags 'Abstract nouns' and 'Plurals'

Re: Use of a plural

CalifJim — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:27:08 GMT

Anonymous
a plural version of a noun that could be either countable or uncountable.

There's no such thing as an uncountable noun in the plural. Plurality is one of the marks of countability. Once the noun is in the plural you know you are dealing with a countable noun.

Anonymous
that a person desires to use it is a good enough reason to use it or them?

Not just desire. Very accomplished writers with a fine ear for the language are able to gauge when it is useful to present an apparent uncountable in the plural -- especially when it's a matter of abstract nouns. The majority of us merely competent writers don't typically invent such novel turns of phrase.

Re: creams and detergents

Goodman — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:19:09 GMT

Mr. Miclawer,

I wasnât going to expand this pluralization discussion on âcreamsâ and âwinesâ.
But it really bothered the heck out of me for two reasons.
1) I really wanted to find out if I was really blowing hot air on this subject
because of my misunderstanding of this topic, and 2) if there is another side of the usage
I am not aware of.
This is perhaps not relevant to the discussion but to establish my point, I think it needs
to be said. Mrs. Milton whom I learned English from was an excellent English teacher who
also had taught for 5 years at the Beijing University, which is a top University in China, by
invitation of the Government. Many of her students had landed positions working for the
Chinese Government and the U.N. as translators and interpreters. I was very blessed to be
among her students. Most of my English foundation was learned from her. And I was really
surprised to see your examples pluralizing âcreamâ and âwineâ. By your earlier examples, which I
compared with the information found on the WEB, I must ask this question. Am I to understand
that itâs completely grammatical to say in a restaurant âmay I have 2 waters and soups?â. I know
we hear that all the time but if we are discussing the whether a particular usage is grammatically
correct, running into this type of scenario is inevitable. Here are some âsupportsâ you had
asked for which may not may not be validated to your satisfaction. No doubt, you are the
English authority and perhaps possess âsuperiorityâ over many frequented this forum and I donât
mean to sound like challenging your examples, let alone to waste anymore of your time.
Nonetheless, as a serious learner, Iâd owe the real answers to myself and the learners if I just
accepted your answers as given. I may be wrong with my search result and you are correct.
And If so, here is my âadvanced apologyâ.

Nouns only countable nouns can be either singular or plural. ... He had some ice cream on
his face. He had an ice cream. mass. countable ...
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/tta/wc/nouns.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages

http://ajaja.paradoxinc.org/Basic/Grammar/CountAndNoncount.ht

Liquids: beer, milk, coffee, blood, cream, juice, honey, gasoline, oil, shampoo, soup, tea, water, wine.

Solids and semi-solids: Bread, butter, cheese, ice, ice cream, lettuce, toast, meat, beef, chicken, fish, ham, lamb, pork, chalk, 
copper, cotton, glass, gold, iron, , soap, tin, toothpaste, wood, wool,

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/countnon.html

A Revision of the RulesThe exceptions require that the rule for pluralizing be revised: count nouns and nouns used 
in a count sense can be pluralized; noncount nouns and nouns used in a noncount sense cannot.

	Pluralizes with -s	Does not Pluralize
Count Noun	X
Count Use	X
Noncount Noun		X
Noncount Use		X

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080425090142AAom2ui

Answers (4)

If coffee is an uncountable noun, cream certainly is by common sense. Thus the rule applies.

Â· Answerer 1

Many nouns can be used as countables or uncountables. It depends on whether you are thinking of a substance or
a single serving or object made of the substance. So:

Beer is fattening (uncountable - the substance)
Don't drink more than three beers a day. (Countable - servings)

I love chocolate (uncountable - the substance)
Get me a box of chocolates (countable - individual pieces)

A vase made of blown glass (uncountable - the substance)
A glass of wine (A single piece / artifact)

Coffee gives me indigestion (the substance - uncountable)
I need at least three coffees to wake up on a morning (countable - individual servings)

2 months ago

http://www3.law.cuny.edu/wc/students/multilingual/articles.html

Uncountable nouns often refer to drinks and food, other general substances, or concepts (meat, tea, steel, information, justice):

Examples of Uncountable Nouns in English:

Food and Drink: bacon, beef, beer, bread, butter, cabbage, candy, cauliflower, chicken, chocolate, coffee, corn,
cream, fish, fruit, juice, lettuce, meat, milk, oil, pasta, rice, salt, spinach, sugar, tea, water, whiskey, wine, yogurt.
General Substances: air,cement, clay, coal, copper, dirt, dust, foam, gasoline, gold, ice, leather, paper, petroleum,
plastic, rain, rubber, silver, soap, steel, wood, wool.
Abstract nouns: abandonment, access, adultery, advice, alimony, anger, anguish, arson, authentication, beauty, capacity,
conduct, confidence, courage, deprivation, desperation, discretion, employment, empowerment, evidence, extortion, fortune,
fun, happiness, health, honesty, housing, information, insurance, intelligence, intent, knowledge, land, love, malice, negligence,
poverty, privacy, real estate, sadness, satisfaction, strength, truth, wealth.
Others: biology, clothing, darkness, equipment, furniture, gossip, homework, jewelry, luggage, machinery, mail, money, music,
news, poetry, pollution, research, scenery, traffic, transportation, violence, weather, weight, work.

Some uncountable nouns (except for concepts) can be turned into countable nouns by preposing a phrase to them
(two bottles of wine, a bar of soap, a piece of information, an act of violence, a burst of anger, a piece of evidence).

e.g. The defendant's lawyer is sure the judge will accept new evidence in this case.

vs. The defendant's lawyer is sure the judge will accept three new pieces of evidence in this case.

Some uncountable nouns can be used in the plural, but their meaning changes:

experience / experiences: e.g., He had to rely on experience / I lived unforgettable experiences

Re: "Impurities"

Goodman — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:01:46 GMT

Hi Saadi,

When we use âit isâ in the context such as yours, it is nearly impossible to come up with an explanation which may fit all the usages.

It is cold and dark outside! â What is âitâ ? one may ask. It â is an abstract pronoun which could be either plural or singular in this type of context, thatâs how it appears to me anyway.

Re: GG's 4-letter noun

Mister Micawber — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:52:17 GMT

.
Well duh. One of the two must be the vowel-- I, O or U... and sometimes Y.

Abstract noun....

good
mood
hush
lift
rift
ploy

Is it countable, and if so, is it plural?

Re: Heart and Hearts

Darcy — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 04:43:36 GMT

Thanks for your reply

I think both heart and mind are abstract nouns. I wonder why they can be plural nouns and countable ones.

It is said that if asbtract nouns are added -s ending; changed into countable nouns, abstract nouns changes to a common noun and their meaning is changed.. I wonder if this applies to the example sentence I posted at first

cf> <abstract noun>: a noun that denotes an idea, emotion, feeling, quality or other abstract or intangible concept

<common noun>: a noun that refers to any of a class of people or things, e.g. "singer" and "place," as distinct from a proper noun, e.g. "Lennon" or "Washington." Common nouns can be preceded by words that modify their meaning, e.g. "some" and "any."

Re: Articles (a, an)

Clive — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:27:57 GMT

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

Re: Articles (a, an)

Hoa Thai — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:00:50 GMT

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

Re: Articles (a, an)

Yoong Liat — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 18:25:21 GMT

Hoa Thai wrote:
First, thank you for your reply. Now if you can help me a bit further, I would appreciate very much.

If advice is an uncountable abstract noun, then advices must be wrong, right? (Yesterday, my father gave me his advice. Today, my mother gives me hers. I don't like their ~~two~~ advice at all! 'Advice' is uncountable, so 'two advices' is wrong.)

Now, how could opinion be countable? I certainly cannot physically sense it...opinion and advice are not synonymous but they are both thought related, I think. So why are they different? [ opinion (singular), opinions (plural) Your opinion is what you think about someone or something based on your personal judgement. Advice (uncountable) You give someone advice when you suggest what they should do in a certain situation.

I hope the definitions I've extracted from the dictionary will enable you to see the difference between 'advice' and 'opinion'.]

Regarding satisfaction, here is an online sentence that goes with a:
"Even in those jurisdictions, however, a gift may still be treated as a satisfaction of legacy if such an intention is expressed in a written document made ..."
So the sentence is grammatically incorrect, right? But, doesn't treated as satisfaction of legacy sound unpleasant to you? ( I missed out the fact that 'satisfaction' can be a countable noun. So 'satisfaction' can be countable or uncountable depending on context.) Her success gave her parents a lot of satisfaction. (uncountable noun). A satisfaction is something that gives a feeling of pleasure or contentment ... the immense satisfactions (countable noun) of parenthood.

Shouldn't there be a source, from which we, ESL learners, can learn abstract nouns' nuances?

Thanks
Hoa Thai

Part of Speech identification

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 20:16:08 GMT

Hello, this is my first post here, I like to know these words
kilometer
centimeter

Are those words noun if they are standing alone ? if it's, what kind of noun it's, proper noun or abstract noun or etc ?

After that, I want to indentify the part of speech of the following setence by using the stanfard parser at http://nlp.stanford.edu:8080/parser/index.jsp
if you input,
convert kilometer to centimeter
it gives convert/VB kilometer/NN to/TO centimeter/VB

if you input,
convert 2 kilometers to centimeter
it gives convert/VB 2/CD kilometers/NNS to/TO centimeter/NN

You can refer to the tagset below, my question is, is the first input setence correct ? if it's correct the part of speech given by the program seems to be incorrect because
the centimeter should be noun instead of Verb, or am I wrong ? If you add the "2" as the second input the program gives the correct part of speech tagging,
it it because my first input grammar is incorrect ? Thank you.

Reference

1. CC  Coordinating conjunction  25.TO  to 
2. CD  Cardinal number           26.UH  Interjection 
3. DT  Determiner                27.VB  Verb, base form 
4. EX  Existential there   28.VBD Verb, past tense 
5. FW  Foreign word              29.VBG Verb, gerund/present participle 
6. IN  Preposition/subord.   30.VBN Verb, past participle 
218z     conjunction 
7. JJ  Adjective                 31.VBP Verb, non-3rd ps. sing. present 
8. JJR Adjective, comparative    32.VBZ Verb, 3rd ps. sing. present 
9. JJS Adjective, superlative    33.WDT wh-determiner 
10.LS  List item marker          34.WP  wh-pronoun 
11.MD  Modal                     35.WP  Possessive wh-pronoun 
12.NN  Noun, singular or mass    36.WRB wh-adverb 
13.NNS Noun, plural              37. #  Pound sign 
14.NNP Proper noun, singular     38. $  Dollar sign 
15.NNPS Proper noun, plural      39. .  Sentence-final punctuation 
16.PDT Predeterminer             40. ,  Comma 
17.POS Possessive ending         41. :  Colon, semi-colon 
18.PRP Personal pronoun          42. (  Left bracket character 
19.PP  Possessive pronoun        43. )  Right bracket character 
20.RB  Adverb                    44. "  Straight double quote 
21.RBR Adverb, comparative       45. `  Left open single quote 
22.RBS Adverb, superlative       46. "  Left open double quote 
23.RP  Particle                  47. '  Right close single quote 
24.SYM Symbol  48. "  Right close double quote

Re: learning and wisdom

Taka — Tue, 22 May 2007 11:57:46 GMT

Marius Hancu wrote:
2 (two) abstract nouns (and not only abstract nouns) require a plural

So it means my dictionary is totally wrong...Hmm...

Search results for 'tag:Abstract nouns tag:Plurals' matching tags 'Abstract nouns' and 'Plurals'

Re: Use of a plural

Re: creams and detergents

Mr. Miclawer,

Nouns only countable nouns can be either singular or plural. ... He had some ice cream on his face. He had an ice cream. mass. countable ...www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/tta/wc/nouns.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080425090142AAom2ui

Answers (4)

Re: "Impurities"

Re: GG's 4-letter noun

Re: Heart and Hearts

Re: Articles (a, an)

Re: Articles (a, an)

Re: Articles (a, an)

Part of Speech identification

Re: learning and wisdom

Nouns only countable nouns can be either singular or plural. ... He had some ice cream on
his face. He had an ice cream. mass. countable ...
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/tta/wc/nouns.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages