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Lcchang Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary

caution/ cautiousness

Dad always drives with caution.

Dad always drives with cautiousness.

Which sentence is better than the other? Please advise.

LC
  

Top answer

The first is better. The second feels wrong to me. I can't explain why though, since both are nouns.

— Jrdavis

  • The first is better.
  • The second feels wrong to me.
  • I can't explain why though, since both are nouns.
  • Perhaps it's something to do with the -ness suffix, which one can use in English to form nouns from adjectives (happy/happiness).
  • But since there is already a perfectly good noun "caution", I can't think of any reason to use "cautiousness" instead of "caution".
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4 Answers
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The first is better. The second feels wrong to me. I can't explain why though, since both are nouns.
Perhaps it's something to do with the -ness suffix, which one can use in English to form nouns from adjectives (happy/happiness). But since there is already a perfectly good noun "caution", I can't think of any reason to use
"cautiousness" instead of "caution".

Likewise for
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JrdavisThe first is better. The second feels wrong to me. I can't explain why though, since both are nouns.
Perhaps it's something to do with the -ness suffix, which one can use in English to form nouns from adjectives (happy/happiness). But since there is already a perfectly good noun "caution", I can't think of any reason to use
"cautiousness" instead of "cau
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------
cau·tious·ness

Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): -es

 : the quality or state of being http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/unabridged?book=Third&va=cautious
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BBC - h2g2 - One Skirt or Two?
This cautiousness might be a motif for the new Labour administration. ...ri
spotlight.
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