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Cambridge Dictionary gives this definition of "effort"

physical or mental activity needed to achieve something

with that meaning, "effort" could be [ C or U ], how do I distinguish the use?

for example,

after Bob's and my effort, the project has been delivered successfully.

after Bob's and my efforts, the project has been delivered successfully.

which one should I use, and why?

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  • Personally I would say, "After the efforts of Bob and myself, ..."
    – Micah Windsor
    May 22, 2020 at 22:52

1 Answer 1

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I see several use cases here:

  1. Bob and I, as a team, made, an effort.
  2. Bob and I, individually, each made an effort.
  3. Bob and I, as a team, made efforts.
  4. Bob and I, individually, made efforts.

This phrase:

after Bob's and my effort,...

seems to see all the effort (could be several actions) that went into it as one object, so seems to correspond most closely to case 1, but not the others. Case 2 is marginal at best, I think. Consider:

Bob put in effort on Monday. I did on Tuesday. After Bob's and my effort, the project was delivered.

This would be clearer with "efforts" or better rendered as:

after bob's effort and my effort,... or equivalently,

after bob's efforts and my efforts,...

because effort and efforts effectively mean the same thing, but it is a question of how the speaker views it. That's why case 1 could also be rendered as:

after Bob's and my efforts,...

If the speaker really wants to make the Count distinction:

after bob's effort and my efforts,...

after bob's efforts and my effort,...

Awkward, but precise and grammatically correct.

Case 3 and 4 imply that the efforts are being viewed as individual items.

after Bob's and my efforts, the project has been delivered successfully.

I think this is where the ambiguity is. I find it hard to distinguish cases 2, 3 and 4 with this example. Context is all that is left.

End result is effort works with case 1, efforts works with case 1, 3, and 4. 2 should be rendered differently.

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  • Thanks for your comprehensive explanation. In real life use, the speaker typically wants to convey the idea that both of them have made contribution to that project and doesn't want to distinguish their efforts, that is the case 1, right?
    – JJJohn
    May 23, 2020 at 3:47
  • I would say that either 1 or 3 represents that case. If you want to convey that the efforts were many, use the C version. If you want to convey that the effort was one grand action, use the NC/U version. It is a matter of nuance (or context). Either phrase works for your idea, but case 3 is not covered by effort. case 1 is covered by both. Safest route: efforts, but it doesn't exclude 4, but as you said, that is unusual and probably not detrimental, because even if you make no distinction, the distinction exists (as they are different people). Sorry, wordy reply, but if you follow it....
    – asllearner
    May 23, 2020 at 8:04

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