By Numbers, Nouns

Hi,I think I have seen more than enough cases where what people call a verbal noun has the indefinite article 'a' in front of it and at the very least, the sheer number (should it be - sheer numbrs??) of it warrants some good explanations from experts in this forum. I think I can laid out...

Hi,The way people talked in the twenties, thirties, and wasn’t that much different from today. As a matter of fact you’ll see a number of the same words used today. Of course speech patterns change from town to town, state to state and country to country. But one that’s stayed the same all...

The way people talked in the twenties, thirties, and wasn’t that much different from today. As a matter of fact you’ll see a number of the same words used today. Of course speech patterns change from town to town, state to state and country to country. But one that’s stayed the same all...

Thank you.Let me shorten the number of questions. How are they different?1.Should it be in a present or future tense?2.Should it be in a present or a future tense?3. Should it be in a present and future tense?4. Should it be in a present and a future tense?I think no. 3 is incorrect, but I am not...

.And awkward examples do not help. These are appropriate:The number of teachers needs to be curtailed. The teacher supply needs to be curtailed.

Hi,I am troubled by which form should I use, singular or plural, when a noun is used as an adjecitve.The number of teachers supply needs to be curtailed. The number of teacher suppy needs to be curtailed.

HiMay I quote an excerpt from M. Swan, 2005, Practical English Usage, 3rd edition. OUP. (para. 370.5 "Two negative ideas: not ... or / not ... nor") I posted some months ago in another thread? In the other thread, I think I learnt that:1. neither ... nor ... / not ... or ... are more...

These are often called "uncountable nouns" (or "mass nouns"). For example, you can count apples -- one apple, two apples, three apples -- but you can't count "informations". There are lots and lots of them in English. Some examples are at...

Sir, what is your advice in this paragraph?(link) http://en.ce.cn/Industries/Consumen-Industries/200806/05/t20080605_15736942.shtml The number of casinos in Macau has more than doubled to 29 since the government ended billionaire Stanley Ho's 40-year gaming monopoly in 2002 and awarded...

Yes, exactly -- dissatisfaction or a negative sense (fewer than might be expected/wanted, a notably small number, etc.) There have been a few weeks better than this one = there have been some better weeks; this isn't the best. There have been few weeks better than this one = this is...