Search results for 'tag:Countable nouns tag:Clauses' matching tags 'Countable nouns' and 'Clauses'

Re: Food / foods

Clive — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:36:43 GMT

Hi,

I read the following sentences in a book. I don't understand why the first sentence use 'food' instead of 'foods' . The second sentence shows that food is a countable noun. 'Food' can be both countable and non-countable, and we often don't much care about making a distinction or speaking consistently.

Also as a side question, why there is no comma before 'and', in #1sentence, even though it is acting as a conjunction between two indpendent clauses.? Until I read posts here by some other students of English who mentioned this so-called 'rule', I had never heard of it. You'll read lots of sentences that do not use a comma before 'and'. I'd say that some factors that influence comma use are the length of the sentence and the complexity of its structure.

1. Go to a mall food court and make a list of food that is good for your health.

2. They try to avoid foods that are high in fat or sugar.

Best wishes, Clive

Food / foods

Musicgold — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:24:30 GMT

Hi,

I read the following sentences in a book. I don't understand why the first setence use 'food' instead of 'foods' . The second sentence shows that food is a countable noun.
Also as a side question, why there is no comma before 'and', in #1sentence, even though it is acting as a conjunction between two indpendent clauses.?

1. Go to a mall food court and make a list of food that is good for your health.

2. They try to avoid foods that are high in fat or sugar.

Thanks,

MG.

Questions about As Much...As clause.

Sabyakgp — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:05:14 GMT

Dear Friends,

I have couple of questions (which has been nagging me for a long time) about 'As much...As' comparative clause.

What all (noun (uncountable/countable), adjectives (gradable/non-gradable), infinitive, gerund) we can use in 'As much....as' clause?

'As much <noun (uncountable/countable)> as'

'As much adjectives (gradable/non-gradable)> as'

'As much <infinitive> as'

'As much <gerund> as'

Could you please explain me.

My second query is:

I know that "much" can be used before uncounatble nouns. But I came accross a famous quotation of Mahatma Gandhi.

"Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good"

In the above mentioned sentence, duty is used as a countable noun with as much. Could you plesae explain this?

Best Regards,
Sabya

Re: what could come after a preposition?

CalifJim — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:27:38 GMT

The only thing that can come after a preposition to form a prepositional phrase is a noun phrase, usually a noun accompanied by its preceding determiner and perhaps an adjective. A relative clause may be added. The noun itself may be a gerund.

If the element after the candidate for a preposition looks like it's not a noun, then either of these holds:

a. The preposition candidate is not a preposition, but perhaps an adverb or conjunction.
b. The structure after the preposition candidate actually is a noun phrase.

Both of your examples are in the category labeled b.

In your first example bad should be viewed as an adjective used as a noun, 'promoted' to a noun because of the elision of situation or its equivalent, one.

The situation can be seen as a bad situation.
The situation can be seen as a bad one.

In your second example, bad and good are simply abstract uncountable nouns meaning that which is bad and that which is good, respectively.

CJ

Re: Which one is correct? (conditional clause)

Yoong Liat — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:01:22 GMT

Goodman wrote:
Yoong Liat wrote:
Neeraj Jain wrote:

Hi Goodman,

I guess that you cannot use "troubles". The right word is "trouble".

Goodman wrote:
Jain is saying that you should use 'trouble' , not 'troubles'.

Trouble is usually an uncountable noun. Are you having trouble with your car?

get/run into trouble (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

Your troubles are your worries: Sit down and forget your troubles (OR problems) for a minute.
(also extracted from the above dictionary)

If you ~~face~~ run into troubles, call me.

I see nothing wrong with "troubles"

Trouble is usually an uncountable noun. Are you having trouble with your car?

get/run into trouble (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

Based on the above extract from Longman Dictionary, I would say that it should 'trouble'. (uncountable noun)

Re: Which one is correct? (conditional clause)

Goodman — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:46:36 GMT

Yoong Liat wrote:
Neeraj Jain wrote:

Hi Goodman,

I guess that you cannot use "troubles". The right word is "trouble".

Goodman wrote:
Jain is saying that you should use 'trouble' , not 'troubles'.

Trouble is usually an uncountable noun. Are you having trouble with your car?

get/run into trouble (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

Your troubles are your worries: Sit down and forget your troubles (OR problems) for a minute.
(also extracted from the above dictionary)

If you ~~face~~ run into troubles, call me.

I see nothing wrong with "troubles"

Re: Which one is correct? (conditional clause)

Yoong Liat — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:35:21 GMT

Neeraj Jain wrote:
Hi Goodman,

I guess that you cannot use "troubles". The right word is "trouble".

Goodman wrote: If you ~~face~~ run into troubles, call me.

Jain is saying that you should use 'trouble' , not 'troubles'.

Trouble is usually an uncountable noun. Are you having trouble with your car?

get/run into trouble (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

Your troubles are your worries: Sit down and forget your troubles (OR problems) for a minute.
(also extracted from the above dictionary)

Re: Which one is correct? (conditional clause)

Goodman — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:33:03 GMT

Yoong Liat wrote:
Neeraj Jain wrote:

Hi Goodman,

I guess that you cannot use "troubles". The right word is "trouble".

Hi Jain

I agree with you.

Trouble is usually an uncountable noun. Are you having trouble /[troubless]with your car? Plural is also fine.

get/run into trouble

Your troubles are your worries: Sit down and forget your troubles (OR problems) for a minute.

(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

Hi Liat,

If I were to gather an impression of your comments, I am picking up some contradiction in your examples. You agreed with Jain in the opening but you also recited some examples in plural. Can you elaborate?

Re: Which one is correct? (conditional clause)

Yoong Liat — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:16:08 GMT

Neeraj Jain wrote:

Hi Goodman,

I guess that you cannot use "troubles". The right word is "trouble".

Hi Jain

I agree with you.

Trouble is usually an uncountable noun. Are you having trouble with your car?

get/run into trouble

Your troubles are your worries: Sit down and forget your troubles (OR problems) for a minute.

(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

Re: Does it ring the same to you?

Clive — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 01:01:23 GMT

Hi,

Unfakeable demonstrations of a superiority that has as least some underlying genetic component are almost unfailingly attractive to the opposite sex.

1. Does 'a' there indicate it is a special kind of superiority and not the superiority in the general sense? Yes

2. Would you say if one replaces with the article 'the', the original intention of the writer might get distorted? Yes

3. Is this kind of thing normal in the world of English writing -- taking an uncountable noun with a restrictive clause following it to change its nature(?) simply by one very tiny stroke of pen which resulted in inserting/putting a one-word determiner? It's not unusual. eg 'With you, I have found a happiness that I have never known before."

Best wishes, Clive