a(n) + plural noun

Question

I wonder if these sets are both possible. If so, do both mean the same thing?

1-1. a whole 1.5 million people

1-2. 1.5 million whole people

2-1. a record four Melbourne Cup winners

2-2. four Melbourne Cup record winners

3-1. an incredible 44 points

3-2. 44 incredible points

4-1. a massive 256 points

4-2. 256 massive points

5-1. a modest 22 pages

5-2. 22 modest pages

6-1. a mere 39 ships

6-2. 39 mere ships

7-1. a further 10 people

7-2. 10 further people

8-1. an estimated 500 people

8-2. 500 estimated people

Thank you very much.

Nona the brit · Accepted Answer

well that is quite a list. Word order can often lead to a huge difference in meaning. Other times it is not so important. To look at these pairs:

1-1. a whole 1.5 million people and 1-2. 1.5 million whole people. Difference in meaning. whole is probably not appropriate in either case.In 1.1 the word whole emphasises the number of people. Quite often, when whole is used with a number, it is to make a critical point about the numbers. e.g. a whole three people came to her party (a pathetic number). In 1.2, whole attaches to 'people' not the number so you are saying these people are in one piece and not chopped into little bits or something!

2-1. a record four Melbourne Cup winners and 2-2. four Melbourne Cup record winners. Difference in meaning.2.1 - the fact that there are four is a 'record'. For example, at this race meeting there are 4 X cup winners. This is a record as previous race meetings have only gathered up to 3 Xcup winners. 2.2. There are four winners of the Melbourne Cup record.

3-1. an incredible 44 points and 3-2. 44 incredible points. 3.1 the total is incredible. 3.2 each individual point is incredible (pretty nonsensical)

4-1. a massive 256 points and 4-2. 256 massive points. as above. 4.1 the total is massive. 4.2. each point is massive (extremely nonsensical)

5-1. a modest 22 pages and 5-2. 22 modest pages. Difference in meaning. 5.1 'modest' refers to the total number of pages, 22 is only a few to have on this topic. 5.2. Each page is modestly written.

6-1. a mere 39 ships and 6-2. 39 mere ships. Difference in meaning. 6.1. there are only 39 ships. 6.2. There are 39 things, which are merely ships. (although it is hard to think of a mere ship - 39 mere boats perhaps).

7-1. a further 10 people and 7-2. 10 further people. Used in the same way but 7.1 is best.

8-1. an estimated 500 people and 8-2. 500 estimated people. difference in meaning. 8.1. An estimate of the number of people. 8.2. ..well we guess they are people.

Itasan · Answer

Thank you very much, Nona.
Very precise and valuable answer. Thank you very much for the time and effort.

a(n) + plural noun

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