In Nouns^x, Hyphens^x, Plurals^x

1. These are always a little uncomfortable for me. I think it's okay, but I'd probably repeat the "a," a spiritual and a literal interpretation , OR a spiritual vs. a literal interpretation , OR spiritual and literal interpretations 2. The duties are the same whether it's...

Hi, Please take a look at this. ... involved with modern, western "come every two hours and sit in the room." I am pretty sure you can treat "come every two hours and sit in the room" like an uncountable noun. Can I make it a countable noun like this? Everyday, a "come...

Anonymous wrote: Hyphens can be tricky. I hope the following helps... Hyphenated nouns -- In the case of nouns formed from two or more words joined by hyphens, usually only the last word forms a plural. However, there are a few cases in which only the first word forms a plural. For...

However, in quantitative expressions of the following type there is possible variation: a ten day absence With temporal nouns in the plural, the apostrophe is sometimes omitted: several weeks'/weeks vacation Pages 325 &1333, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, by...

As an adjective, the singular is used. a ten-dollar bill, a twelve-foot plank, a 20-function calculator .* As a noun, the plural is used (unless you are talking about only one thing, of course). ten dollars, twelve feet, 20 functions, one dollar, one foot, one function. CJ *These...

Hello MM I feel this question is somehow tricky. Most of CNN and NYTimes reporters write like '12- to 15-year-old girls' when the noun can take a genuine plural form. But in the case of 'audience', a collective noun, they seem prefer to write '12-to-15-year-old audience'. paco

Hyphens can be tricky. I hope the following helps... Hyphenated nouns -- In the case of nouns formed from two or more words joined by hyphens, usually only the last word forms a plural. However, there are a few cases in which only the first word forms a plural. For example: the plural form of...

Hi Henk, I was wondering dear sir, why you didn't use the word "feet" in the 2 sentences "enter the wreck at a depth of 443" and "usable up to a depth of 1150" Embarrassingly, I don't remember the whole text and did not save a copy. Perhaps I deleted the 'feet' in error; please reinsert...

Hello, Guest. If you want to focus on correctness, you might want to avoid using "eleven year old" (without the hyphens). The reason is that, if you use the three words separately, you need the plural "years" when you talk about "eleven". On the other hand, it is correct to use the noun "year"...

~waves hello~ "At the same time, North Rhine-Westphalia's finances are overstretched because of weaker-than-expected tax revenues." Andrei, you say that "weaker than expected" is fine. And it is, but not when you want to use the whole phrase as the premodifier of a noun. You wouldn't...