Questions tagged [nouns]
A noun is a word (other than a pronoun) used to identify people, places, or things, or to name a particular one of those.
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Neighbour John saw cat Whiskers near pharmacy GBN when car Mercedes was there
Are there any restrictions as to which title nouns can be placed before proper names?
How correct is this sentence:
'Neighbour John saw cat Whiskers near pharmacy GBN when car Mercedes was there.'
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What does "the strain I've given the credit" mean in this context?
I'm coming to that," said Jim. It isn't that I doubt the investment. Don't blame yourself for that; you showed a fine sound business instinct: I always knew it was in you, but then it ripped ...
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What does *monte* mean in the term *three-card-monte* game?
What does monte mean in the term three-card-monte game? I have looked up the dictionaries but couldn't find any applicable answer, I'm afraid.
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What does a "three-card-monte man" mean in this context?
I know what a three-card-monte game is, but I don't know what the author wants to say when he says "he wasn't a three-card-monte-man". I don't find any really intuitive connection between ...
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What does "phantom central" mean?
I would understand a central phantom. The word-order puzzles me. Does phantom central have a specific meaning? Is central a postpositive adjective there? Thanks in advance :).
And now a madcap ...
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When can noun adjuncts or attributive nouns be plural?
I know that noun adjuncts or attributive nouns (are they the same?) are usually singular. However, I often see native English speakers using plural forms in such nouns. For example, the following ...
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Does "I saw a blue car and bus" mean "blue bus" or any coloured bus?
What is the outcome of any and every sentence in the following sentence format when the rules of English grammar is applied upon them.
sentence format <Noun Verb Determiner Adjective Noun ...
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Should I use 'Combo', 'Set' or 'Assortment'?
In the context of common hardware items, for instance:
2 screws
2 bolts
If these are sold in a single packaged product, should it be called a 'fastener combo', 'fastener set' or 'fastener assortment'...
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Are the words in "The 40th-anniversary restoration of the concert film" really in the right order? Is this semantical?
The 40th-anniversary restoration of the concert film is a funk spectacle. It has also united the band, which split up in 1991, to discuss the landmark. — NYT
For someone learning English, the phrase &...
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Difference between 'gamer' and 'player'?
I saw a sentence today:
Back in the last century, gamers were sometimes known to take advantage of players with slow (as in dialup) links; an opponent could be eliminated literally before he or she ...
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Is this sentence an acceptable idiom? "Is there any park near here?"
I know that we can use "any" with singular nouns, but there needs to be a proper context as well, such as "Any park needs a playground for kids, I believe".
But what about the ...
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What is a English noun without determiner?
I read a sentence today:
The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) uses a retransmission timer to ensure data delivery in the absence of any feedback from the remote data receiver.
I saw in the ... of ...
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Count vs Number of
I am a software engineer and I struggle with the variable names, regarding this scope, what would be the best suited term for a counter.
For example if I want to count parts, would "Parts Counted&...
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We can't remove article from a singular countable noun. So is that a noun modifier or complement?
We can't remove article from a singular countable noun. So is that a noun modifier or complement?
We generally call it a modifier though it's mandatory...But why?🤔
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Is the 'a nice' in 'a nice to have' grammatical?
In this context, 'a nice' is used as a noun as 'a must':
Design’s role has moved from a nice to have to a must have to a differentiator
I wonder if the 'indefinite article + adjective' form can ...
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Why is it "submit to the veto"? [closed]
For the Economist Aug 11th 2023 issue article "Conservatives are attacking capitalism".
"To tame corporate tyranny, Mr Ahmari would supercharge the state. It should encourage ...
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Which way of saying is more general? [closed]
Consider the following two sentences, where I highlighted the differences between them:
Technology has drastically improved the easy of obtaining information: from making a phone call in the forests ...
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Mixing different forms of a noun in a paragraph?
I am sking if it is allowed to mix the singular form, the plural form, and "the + n" form of a noun within a paragraph, and whether the meaning changes at all.
For example, are both (1) and (...
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Singular nouns after 'any'
There have been similar questions on this site before, such as this one but none of them seems to be able to give a definite answer on this one.
According to both Oxford Learner's Dictionary and ...
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Meaning of "curtain pulls"
I have encountered curtain pulls used as a noun, seemingly to refer to pulled curtains. Is this a noun, is that what it refers to?
The rays of moonlight shone through the gaps in between the curtain ...
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I get better at guitar, I get better at playing the guitar or I get better at playing guitar
Which of these sentences is correct in British english?
I get better at guitar
I get better at playing the guitar
I get better at playing guitar
And if all of them are correct, Which one is the most ...
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Difference in meaning of a paragraph when using plural vs. using singular nouns
Consider the following two paragraphs where one uses "the pen" and "pens" in different ways:
"Reed pens were used extensively until the development of the quill pen in 600AD. ...
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The "chestnut " — is a noun or Pronoun in this context?
Everyone expected the chestnut to win.
I think it's a noun but it's pronoun someone said..
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A remark upon the word insecurity
In the sentence:
"I want to add a remark upon the word insecurity."
and specifically in the prepositional phrase upon the word insecurity what is the function of the nouns word and ...
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I will go home or I will go to home? [duplicate]
Why do we say "I will go home" instead of "I will go to home"?
While we can say "I will go to school"
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Prepositional phrase or adjective phrase
i think that we can make a step in the right direction
In the sentence above, is "that we can make a step in the right direction" a noun clause or adverb clause?
It's very confusing for me ...
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Home or house, which one is grammatically correct?
I have been trying to see him at his house / home.
I guess, since house is building we must say house, while using the word "home" is not correct there, right?
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Be verb+Noun(Used as an adjective)
I spotted it in a junk shop in Bridport, a roll-top desk. The man said it was early nineteenth century, and oak.
I have a doubt regarding any grammar rules as to this "be+Noun"(using as ...
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infinitive functioning as a noun or an adjective
I got him to repair the bike.
In this sentence is the infinitive functioning as a noun or an adjective?
Or without context is it just an <object + object compliment>?
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Common noun and article, determiners
Should we use articles and determiners before a singular-count common noun all the time? Are there exceptions?
For example:
A teacher plays an important role.
but why fish lives in water?
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Did I parse "exaltation over the party" correctly?
This context comes from the show "Mindhunter". It's an exchange between a serial killer Edmund Kemper and an FBI agent Holden Ford.
Ford is asking Kemper if he felt pleasure while he ...
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Difference between alikeness and likeness
Is there any difference between "alikeness" and "likeness"?
My likeness to my mother is so striking.
My alikeness to my mother is so striking.
Can I use a preposition "to&...
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What is the POS of blame in "be to blame"?
You are to blame.
In this accepted answer blame was claimed to be a noun, but in this accepted one, it became a verb. I wonder what its part of speech should be? If it is a noun, why?
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Is "bug" a negative word when referred to a person?
I'd like to know if "bug" would sound negatively in cases like this "You're an IT bug" or "you're a languages bug", for example.
And, if not, could it be used negatively ...
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"English learner" vs "math learner"?
ChatGPT rewrote my expression "English leaners with Chinese as native language" to "Chinese learners of English", and I don't know if it is right. What I want to mean is "...
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adjective or noun + for + object?
It's impossible for the job to be finished in time.
It's a good idea for us to travel in separate cars.
There is a definition in the books :
adjective + for + object + infinitive
noun+ for + object + ...
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What is the definition for the noun "challenge" in the phrase "mount challenge"
This context comes from the book "Black Rednecks And White Liberals"
by Thomas Sowell.
Basically answer the question at the end of the post and I will be satisfied unless the answer is "...
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man’s : adjective or noun?
,,,but when his trunk was close to the tailor, he discharged the muddy water full in the man’s face. So the tailor was taught a good lesson.
In the above example, is man’s not an adjective?
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What does "honor" mean in this sentence?
What does "honor" mean in this sentence?
"Mather wanted the service to be available to everyone, so he tried a pay-what-you-can honor system—but everyone claimed to be poor."
...
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Does "money" mean "rich people" in this context?
This context comes from the movie "Heat" by Michael Mann
"Roger Van Zant.
Owns banks in the Caymans...
runs investment portfolios
for offshore drug money. Stuff like that."
My ...
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What does "to be on the lay for" mean?
This context comes from the movie "Gangs Of New York" The phrase occurs when one of the characters is describing the types of gangs and people living in New York.
"Hellcat Maggie tried ...
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Is there a noun corresponding to "to gather again"?
I'm putting together a timetable for a day in London, and one of the slots is about people gathering again to go back home. Now I'm wondering how to say this (the ??? in the example below):
10.15 a.m. ...
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How are these structures called in American and British English?
What do you call this little building in which a guard sits and lets people in and out of a company's premises and what is the name of that horizontal bar which he raises from inside of the building(...
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Which is correct and idiomatic, "irregular-verb appearance", "appearance of irregular verbs", or "irregular verbal appearance"?
Which is the most correct and idiomatic? I think that 1. and 2. are pretty correct and idiomatic, but 3. is just erroneous.
The irregular-verb appearance is very interesting.
The appearance of ...
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Is this statement correct : "Certificate of Winner/Champion in English Debating Championship 2022"?
I'd like to know how to write a statement in a cover letter telling people about a certificate that I got after winning an English debate.
in my application letter where I wrote down like this:
For ...
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"Some other reasons, e.g. technical or legal" or "e.g. technical or legal reasons"
In the following example:
This could be motivated by some other reasons, e.g. technical or legal.
Is it correct to write "technical or legal" or shall one write "technical or legal ...
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Argentina or Argentine?
In the following extract, should "Argentina" or "Argentine" be used?
The images, which show Messi and other Argentina / Argentine players celebrating their 2022 World Cup win, ...
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What is the role of "drive" in this context? [closed]
that is the HeadLine on new york times:
"Google Employees Brace for a Cost-Cutting Drive as Anxiety Mounts"
is "drive" here a noun meaning something like an effort?
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Can I say "I cannot handle my starvation"
Is it proper to say this sentence below:
I cannot handle my starvation.
I am trying to express that I am very hungry using exaggeration.
The word "starvation" represents:
suffering or ...
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Why can a description be used as a name here?
Usually '3 apples' or 'one person' or 'a man' are used as description phrases, like: 'I am one man', how come we use phrases (dealing with cost) like the following:
Three dollars is the price
Why ...