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

Re: Beauty and the beast... why "the" before "beast" only?

CalifJim — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 02:30:18 GMT

Beauty is ambiguous. It's both a proper noun, and thus the name of a person, and an abstract noun referring to the property of being beautiful. The most usual meaning of the beauty is the beautiful woman.

the beast is that particular beast that the story is about, not just any beast, i.e., not just a beast. Beast is capitalized because it's part of a title.

So you could have "The Beauty and the Beast", but not "Beauty and Beast", because beast is a countable noun in the singular. Such nouns must have a determiner.

You could also have "A Beauty and a Beast", but then you can ask "Which beautiful woman? Which beast?", and you'd have to read the story to find out, of course.

The difference is not a large one, and the choice of "Beauty and the Beast" is pretty much arbitrary.

CJ

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

The classification of words and the article attached (+abstract plural)

Aperisic — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 14:08:17 GMT

People have found this text useful so I am repeating it here in this entirety with error fixed (there are several posts combined in it)

Before I give you more detailed explanation I have to tell you that in dictionaries you can frequently find the type of the word: countable, uncountable, mass, abstractâ¦ However what is more important is to understand that the context is equally important. You can turn many words into abstract if you want to express an idea, quality or experience, and you can as well make from an uncountable word a countable one if you want to speak about one particular appearanceâ¦ So before you decide what is the type of the word you have to know

what is the most frequent context in which the word is found
what are the contexts you can use the word
whether and how each context changes the meaning of the word
which context is maybe awkward for the particular word

Once you know the context you can decide about the article attached. So here you have all contexts that one word can be found in. Do not forget that it is possible that you can change the context even when your dictionary says that a word is, for example, strictly countable.

A ball can mean one instance of ball, a more or less round gadget of different materials for playing games, but ball can mean the experience of playing games with a ball.

A ball is usually round. - one ball
Ball, however I've loved it, is what hurts my knees. - the experience of playing different games with a ball

However, this is the advanced level of understanding and for some time you should be very strict and use words how they are given in the dictionary. But, in order to truly understand some exceptions in literature you have to have the following view better.

1. The possible contexts of a word

count nouns one ball-two balls-some balls

they have plural
in singular you have to use a/an or the
in plural you use the to define a particular instance, and without the to define a type

uncount nouns homework-fun-knowledge-privacy-furniture

they have singular but it is used, by the rule, without a/an
they do not have plural
you do not count them using one, two... but you can measure them using some, a piece ofâ¦

mass nouns coffee-beer-cheese

in singular they can mean substance and in that case they are uncount so you do not use a but if you use the you mean a particular kind of that substance
in singular you can use a but in that case you talk about a regular portion or a type, a is actually a substitute for one (I want a coffee = I want one coffee = I want one cup of coffee)
in plural they mean several regular portions or types (several different cheeses = several different type of cheeses, two coffees = two cups of coffee)

singular nouns sun-strain-past-future

they are always singular and they always need a determiner (the sun, a strain, the past)
some normal nouns may have a special meaning when they are used as a singular noun (a note of urgency = a tone of haste)

plural nouns glasses-spectacles-clothes-conditions

they have only plural and you do not usually count them, but there are exceptions (two goods is not common, two scissors is ok)
you can use only the for known occurrences, for other the rules are similar to an uncount noun, unless you can count them (a/one scissors but even then you better say some scissors, a pair of scissors)
some normal words may have a different meaning when used as a plural noun (conditions - the factors that affect something)

collective nouns army-crew-government

they behave as a count noun but they can use singular or plural verb form, which depends on how you observe a group - as one item or a collection of several items

proper nouns names

they have the or do not have the based on the special rules or simply a custom

compound nouns

they are the nouns made of several words
apart from that they can belong to any other group mentioned here
they have special rules of creating the plural

abstract nouns intelligence-joy-relief

abstract nouns are usually uncountable and they behave as one
if you count them or use plural, you are referring to particular instance(s)

We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them. (joys - the things that make us joyful)

concrete nouns the nouns that are referring to physical objects

they can be in any group said above except abstract

As you can see the rules are strict, but there are exceptions. We say that uncountable nouns you cannot count, they do not use a and have no plural. However, if the word belongs to an abstract group expressing idea, feeling or experience, it may still be counted and have the plural when you mean about the particular occurrence(s). Not all abstract words are capable to switch to plural.

Some words can be observed as uncountable (hair) and behave as one, but if you use a they change the meaning. hair - strands growing on head or body, a hair - single strand growing on head or body (or found in a soup ) However, you can see that a is used to restrict the occurrence to certain physics dimension. Not all uncountable words are capable to use a and to be counted. If they do they almost without an exception change the meaning, though sometimes the change is not very serious.

water is uncountable so the rules says no plural, but then you deprive yourself from some important possible usages or understanding

waters -

a type of mineral waters
all rivers that flow into a large river or cover certain region
drops
place(s) to practice water sports
the places covered with water on the Earth
an area, realm (it can leads us to unknown waters)
the water natural beauties like waterfall, cascades...
a spa
the water near the shore of region or country
a type of water coming from many different sources - toxic waters

a water -

a river or lake or any closed area covered with water
a small amount of water that was examined for purity
a drop

So uncountable water is very capable to switch to a countable case with, of course, change of the meaning. Thus, the entire previous detailed classification is frequently relative. (However, when you use words in their regular and natural and most common context you use the strict rules: furniture in my house, not furnitures in my house, unless you have all together Louis XV, Louis XVI and Louis XVII furniture in your house [furnitures - types of furniture] to show off around. The furnitures we have are: commercial use furniture, counter system furniture, job station furniture, retail counter furniture)

I hope you start getting a picture. However, before you go into this area more thoroughly, it is highly recommendable to follow the standard usage especially if you have kind of exam.

The most frequent case is that each word has many different meanings. Each meaning can belong to a completely different group of words. A good dictionary gives the classification not by the word, but by each meaning of the word.

Sometimes you have to guess the classification, which is normally not so difficult.

Re: the cases of abstract nouns taking "thes"

Aperisic — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:58:34 GMT

Before I give you more detailed explanation I have to tell you that in dictionaries you can frequently find the type of the word: countable, uncountable, mass, abstractâ¦ However what is more important is to understand that the context is equally important. You can turn many words into abstract if you want to express an idea, quality or experience, and you can as well make from a uncountable word a countable one if you want to speak about one particular appearanceâ¦ So before you decide what is the type of the word you have to know

what is the most frequent context in which the word is found
what are the contexts you can use the word
whether and how each context changes the meaning of the word
which context is maybe awkward for the particular word

A ball can mean one instance of ball, a more or less round gadget of different materials for playing games, but ball can mean the experience of playing games with a ball.

A ball is usually round. - one ball
Ball, however I've loved it, is what hurts my knees. - the experience of playing different games with a ball

The possible contexts of a word

count nouns one ball-two balls-some balls

they have plural
in singular you have to use a/an or the
in plural you use the to define a particular instance, and without the to define a type

uncount nouns homework-fun-knowledge-privacy-furniture

they have singular but it is used, by the rule, without a/an
they do not have plural
you do not count them using one, two... but you can measure them using some, a piece ofâ¦

mass nouns coffee-beer-cheese

in singular they can mean a substance and in that case they are uncount so you do not use a but if you use the you mean a particular kind of that substance
in singular you can use a but in that case you talk about a regular portion or a type, a is actually a substitute for one (I want a coffee = I want one coffee = I want one cup of coffee)
in plural they mean several regular portions or types (several different cheeses = several different type of cheeses, two coffees = two cups of coffee)

singular nouns sun-strain-past-future

they are always singular and they always need a determiner (the sun, a strain, the past)
some normal nouns may have a special meaning when they are used as a singular noun (a note of urgency = a tone of haste)

plural nouns glasses-spectacles-clothes-conditions

they have only plural and you do not usually count them, but there are exceptions (two goods is not common, two scissors is ok)
you can use only the for known occurrences, for other the rules are similar to an uncount noun, unless you can count them (a/one scissors but even then you better say some scissors, a pair of scissors)
some normal words may have a different meaning when used as a plural noun (conditions - the factors that affect something)

collective nouns army-crew-government

they behave as a count noun but they can use singular or plural verb form, which depends on how you observe a group - as one item or a collection of several items

proper nouns names

they have the or do not have the based on the special rules or simply a custom

compound nouns

they are the nouns made of several words
apart from that they can belong to any other group mentioned here
they have special rules of creating the plural

abstract nouns intelligence-joy-relief

abstract nouns are usually uncountable and they behave as one
if you count them or use plural, you are referring to a particular instance(s)

We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them. (joys - the things that make us joyful)

concrete nouns the nouns that are referring to physical objects

they can be in any group said above except abstract

Some words can be observed as uncountable (hair) and behave as one, but if you use a they change the meaning. hair - strands growing on head or body, a hair - single strand growing on head or body (or found in a soup) However, you can see that a is used to restrict the occurrence to certain physics dimension. Not all uncountable words are capable to use a and to be counted. If they do they almost without an exception change the meaning, though sometimes the change is not very serious.

water is uncountable so the rules says no plural, but then you deprive yourself from some important possible usages or understanding

waters -

type(s) of mineral waters
all rivers that flow into a large river or cover certain region
drops
place(s) to practice water sports
the places covered with water on the Earth
an area, realm (it can lead us to unknown waters)
the water natural beauties like waterfall, cascades...
a spa
the water near the shore of region or country
a type of water coming from many different sources - toxic waters

a water -

a river or lake or any closed area covered with water
a small amount of water that was examined for purity
a drop

I hope you start getting the picture. However, before you go into this area more thoroughly, it is highly recommendable to follow the standard usage especially if you have kind of exam.

Now, back to your question.

The abstract nouns are usually regarded as uncountable, thus if you use the you mean of one particular occurrence.

That medicine is very good. The relief was immediate. (the relief: in my case, when I used it ...)

the cases of abstract nouns taking "thes"

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 09:22:11 GMT

Hi,

As far as I remember, someone has indicated in his response that an abstract noun does not usually take a determiner like "the" unless the author does it for stylistic reason, but I think even (?) abstract nouns can take on, aside from being stylistic, the determiner "the" under a right context. Can any one give me some examples where they can take on "thes"?