A newspaper article

Question

While reading an online newspaper, I got stucked in some phrases below.

1. North Korea had elevated the grandson to the highest levels of state power.

I've known that it is the rule to position a singular noun after the superlative. Then why is this to be plural one?

2. The first stage of the rocket fell into the sea about 103miles west of Seoul,

I feel like something is missing between 'miles' and 'west'. Is this kind of usage correct and general?

3. The administration had portrayed the deal as a promising if fragile advance that would allow nuclear monitors back into the country after years when the nuclear program continued unchecked.

A phrase introduced by 'if' is totally incomprehensible to me.
There seems to not have any verbs in this clause-looking phrase.
And the meaning doesn't get through to me either, mostly for my insufficient knowledge of grammar though.

4. The administration says it specifically told the North Korean negotiators that the deal was off if satellite were launched.

To my eyes, 'it' is used to be indicative of the following long 'that phrase'.
Then 'says it to the North Korean negotiator that the deal was off~.' is to be proper, I think.
Besides that, I have no idea of the original sentence being analyzed. How it can be broken down?

MalRey · Accepted Answer

cho77121. North Korea had elevated the grandson to the highest levels of state power.I've known that it is the rule to position a singular noun after the superlative. Then why is this to be plural one?

It's common to use the plural in this context (and possibly others).

cho77122. The first stage of the rocket fell into the sea about 103miles west of Seoul,I feel like something is missing between 'miles' and 'west'. Is this kind of usage correct and general?

The sentence is fine as written. I don't know what might be missing. I suppose you could claim that they should have said "nautical miles due west" but I find it hard to believe. You must have some idea what is missing since you asked the question. What do you think is missing?

cho77123. The administration had portrayed the deal as a promising if fragile advance that would allow nuclear monitors back into the country after years when the nuclear program continued unchecked.A phrase introduced by 'if' is totally incomprehensible to me. There seems to not have any verbs in this clause-looking phrase.And the meaning doesn't get through to me either, mostly for my insufficient knowledge of grammar though.

It might help to understand that "if fragile" is a kind of side comment like this, "...portrayed the deal as a promising, if fragile, advance..." or even this, "...portrayed the deal as a promising (if fragile) advance..." it can be eliminated without changing the meaning of the sentence like this, "...portrayed the deal as a promising advance..."

cho77124. The administration says it specifically told the North Korean negotiators that the deal was off if satellite were launched.To my eyes, 'it' is used to be indicative of the following long 'that phrase'.Then 'says it to the North Korean negotiator that the deal was off~.' is to be proper, I think.Besides that, I have no idea of the original sentence being analyzed. How it can be broken down?

"it" is a pronoun referring to the administration. "The administration told the North Korean negotiators that..."

Cho7712 · Answer

Thank you,
So I get clear understanding, in particular about the 3rd question.
And about the 2nd question, I suspected and still have suspected there to be a preposition 'from' or an adverb 'away' because of the appearance of nouns in succession without having a proper functional connector between them.
Apart from that, I just now learned from you about the helpful usage of the word 'due' that I could never known if you didn't mention it.

Anonymous · Answer

Hello, Cho:

1. We non-experts are warned to be very careful before answering.

2. So I do NOT say that I have the answer. I only offer this for your consideration.

3. As the excellent verified answer says: there is no need for any words between "miles" and "west."

a. The verified answer did, however, indicate that you could use the word "due."

4. I think (repeat: think) that you may be looking for two words that are grammatically possible but not necessary: to the.

a. I found these examples on Google books:

Three miles to the west of that place.
Fifteen miles to the west of Antioch.
Two miles to the west of the river.

(Remember: if any in-house expert disagrees, you must take his./her word.)

HAVE A NICE DAY!

Cho7712 · Answer

Thank you for the answer,
And it is so much appreciated for your careful consideration.
Then, though further searching needed, I can make your suggestion of the correct usage for now.
Have a good day.

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