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Hotmale Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

Certain nominee

Can you, please, tell me whether "a certain nominee" is an expression commonly used by English speakers?
I used it in this sentence:

"I think that he is a certain nominee for an Oscar Award."

Does it sound all right? Or maybe I should use a "certain candidate"?

Thank you
  

Top answer

"Nominee" is usual with the Oscars; we speak of Oscar nominees, not candidates. " is good English but not what I'd expect to hear. " When "certain" is used attributively to mean "sure", it can clash with the more usual meaning of "certain" in that position, "particular".

— Enoon

  • "Nominee" is usual with the Oscars; we speak of Oscar nominees, not candidates.
  • " is good English but not what I'd expect to hear.
  • " When "certain" is used attributively to mean "sure", it can clash with the more usual meaning of "certain" in that position, "particular".
  • "His nomination is certain" avoids that problem.
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2 Answers
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"Nominee" is usual with the Oscars; we speak of Oscar nominees, not candidates. Your sentence "I think that he is a certain nominee for an Oscar Award." is good English but not what I'd expect to hear. "I think he is certain to be nominated for an Oscar." When "certain" is used attributively to mean "sure", it can clash with the more usual meaning of "certain" in that position, "particular". "His
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"I think he is certain to be nominated for an Oscar", "His nomination is certain"

Thank you for your suggestion and explanation, Enoon
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