Search results for 'tag:Singular nouns tag:Nouns' matching tags 'Singular nouns' and 'Nouns'

Re: Was or Were?

richard_s — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:32:15 GMT

Personally, I would use 'was', but I seem to remember once reading that British English favoured one and American the other, particularly in situations like 'my family is crazy' or 'my family are crazy'. Â Unfortunately, I can't remember which one is British and which is American. Â Here in Australia, we tend to follow British more than American English, suggesting that treating groups as singular nouns is British.

Re: Two infinitives

CalifJim — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:56:17 GMT

Fandorin
I'm freaking out about articles.

It's not just you! A lot of learners have trouble with this aspect of English!

Here are a few principles you might keep in mind. (It is not a comprehensive list!)

As a first approximation or default strategy, use the with every concrete noun, because most of the time you know which person(s), which substance(s), which thing(s), or which place(s) you're referring to. Knowing which is what triggers the.

The sugar is on the table. The phone rang. The men poured the cement into the molds. The bus went from the post office to the bank. The boys walked on the sand. The children played on the lawn. The president signed the documents.

______

Don't use any article with unmodified abstract nouns, for example, faith, space, wisdom, happiness (in fact almost all the -ness words), etc. [Note that it makes no sense to say you know which wisdom or which happiness you're talking about, so the is not appropriate.]

Treat others with kindness. Love and hate are powerful emotions. Wisdom comes with time.

______

Don't use any article with proper nouns. John, Mr. Smith, etc. [This one is easy; you probably know it well already.]

______

For a single person or object, use a (or an) if you aren't saying which person or object you're talking about, but are just talking about any one of them, it doesn't matter which one. (You might not be saying which one because you don't know which one or because you don't want to tell which one or because it's not important which one.) Note that a/an can be paraphrased as a certain or any, it doesn't matter which.

I saw a man with a red raincoat today. (I saw a certain man, it doesn't matter which man, with a certain red raincoat, it doesn't matter which raincoat. This suggests that I've never seen this man before, nor this raincoat.)

Compare:

I saw the man with the red raincoat today. (I saw that man whom we already know about with that red raincoat which we already know about. This suggests that on previous occasions I've seen the same man wearing the same raincoat.)

______

For substances (uncountables), use no article at all to indicate it doesn't matter which. (These are singular nouns.)

Add sugar if you like it sweeter. (Not any particular sugar. Just any sugar you can find.)

Peter threw water on the fire. (Not any particular water. Just any water that Peter was able to find.)

Do you like chocolate? (Not this piece of chocolate or that piece of chocalate, but chocolate in general.)

I need money to pay the rent. (Not the money that you have; not the money that George has; not the money that Jane has; but any money at all, it doesn't matter which money it is.)

______

Plurals follow the same general pattern as substances. Don't use an article if you're not saying which persons or things you're talking about. You're talking about "anonymous" things.

We used bricks to make the path. (No indication of which bricks. It doesn't matter which bricks. It's not as if you've identified these bricks as a special group of bricks. They're "anonymous".)

Joseph reads books and magazines in his spare time. (No indication of which books or which magazines. It doesn't matter which. We don't identify these books and magazines as a special group. They're "anonymous".)

I bought tomatoes for the salad. (No indication of which tomatoes. It doesn't matter which. They are "anonymous" tomatoes.)

______

Post your sentences, and we'll take a look at them.

Re: Can you tell me if my sentence is correct.

Yankee — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:10:54 GMT

Anonymous
Wow! I'm amazed at all the good feedback I have received. I'm certainly going to put them
to good use.

Hi Anon

I'd suggest using "it" or "all of it" instead of "them" since "feedback" is a singular noun:

- Wow! I'm amazed at all the good feedback I have received. I'm certainly going to put it to good use.

Re: Singular & Plural Verb

Mister Micawber — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:29:53 GMT

.
Hello, prem1pre-- and welcome to EF.

His rank (singular noun) of Major is superior to their ranks (plural noun) of Captain and Lieutenant.
A Major ranks (3rd person singular present verb) higher than a Captain;, while a Captain and a Lieutenant rank (3rd person plural present verb) higher than a Sergeant.

Several genes determine (3rd person plural present verb) hair colour, but only one gene determines (3rd person singular present verb) curliness.

Re: lies/exist/stay

Avangi — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:03:07 GMT

singular noun, third person singular verb: The bucket lies / exists on the floor.

plural noun, third person plural verb: The glasses lie / exist / stay on that stand.

- A.

Re: the apostrophe s!

yizhivika — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:12:47 GMT

Hi Shely,

If the noun is singular, as with 'Poland' here, you should say:

Poland's entrance [actually, you're more likely to use 'entry' here, not 'entrance'] to the EU.

You use s' if the noun is plural. For example:

The local farmers' wives always organise a festival at this time of year.

Note that if you were talking of only one farmer you would say:

The local farmer's wife always organises a festival at this time of year.

Be careful, however, with irregular plurals such as men and children.

It would be "The men's wives..." and "The children's toys..."

Also note that you'll sometimes see s' used with singular nouns that end in s, when the noun is a proper name. For example:

Mr. Jones' daughter has just got married. (Mr. Jones here is the man's name).

Re: Using an apostrophe

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:16:56 GMT

Possessive Use

If you are using a singular noun to indicate possession, use an apostrophe before the "s."
If you are using a plural noun, use an apostrophe after the "s."

Instead of: Both neighbors dogs barked all night long.
Consider: Both neighbors' dogs barked all night long.

Instead of: Ice hockey is Toms favorite sport.
Consider: Ice hockey is Tom's favorite sport.

(NOUN MEANS - PERSON, PLACE, THING, OR IDEA) - meaining that you would use an apostrophy for non-living things as well...

THIS IS BY WAY OF MICROSOFT WORD..HOPE THIS HELPS

Re: The profits of Prince Charles's organic farm go to charities

Mister Micawber — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:35:28 GMT

.
1-- The '-s' after a singular noun ending in '-s' is now generally accepted, and even preferred by some stylists. Keep it.
2-- Yes.
.

superative and article

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:55:39 GMT

Hi,
I am wonder if I have to place the definite article before a phrase that has a superative in front or before another word. Normally, I figure a definite noun is necessary if a singular noun/word? is involved, ie I need the best/strongest man to lift this table, but if we have 'men' instead of 'man' or 'people', do we must have to put the definite article?

I need the best/strongest men/people to ...

One more question: Does the word 'ultimate' need a definite article if a singluar noun is involved? It looks to be functioning like the word 'top' which no definite article is needed for a singular noun, IMO. Can you think of several more words like 'top'?

ultimate climbers
the ultimate climber

Re: article

CalifJim — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:51:53 GMT

Cool Breeze
However, what you have made a mistake with in my humble opinion is that the indefinite article isn't used with uncountable nouns. The defintite article (the) can be used with all nouns.

Yes, yes, yes. I know that. Maybe I used the wrong words to express what I was trying to say. Maybe I should have said it as follows:

Only an uncountable noun can be used without an article (if it's singular).

The formulation in sea uses no article.

Therefore it treats sea as uncountable.

But I know for a fact that, on the contrary, sea is countable.

Therefore, in sea is wrong (because it contains a countable singular noun being used without an article).

_____

The argument, I'll admit, doesn't specify which article (a or the) will fix what's wrong.

Does this explanation make it clearer what I was getting at?

(Thanks for responding. Sorry about the e-mail problem.

There should be a list on the right with your latest discussions, by the way. Maybe that will help. )