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Believer Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

inquiry in dictionary definition

0Hi,02br
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001. I was looking at the Compact English Learner's Dictionary and in it the definition of 'warning' was noted as this:02br
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00A warning is something which is said or written to tell people if a possible danger, problem, or other unpleasant thing that might happen.02br
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00Why does it have to be 'unpleasant thing' and not 'another unpleasant thing'? Is that because 'a' is there acting kind of as the word 'one'? 02br
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002. I think I have asked more than few questions on this subject but let me try to ask you again since, maybe due to my own deficiencies, I failed to understand in a satisfactory level.02br
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01i00... become greater in 01u00number02u00, size, value, etc.02i02br
02br
00Now there are three nouns -- number, size, and value -- and one is countable (I think): the word 'number'.02br
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00Now, Why it's not written like this? 02br
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01i00.... become greater in 01u00numbers02u00, size, value, etc.02i02br
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00This seems more logical to me. This is one simple example but I seem to see many more like this where what seems to be written in a list form -- with the nouns in the list being mixed, both countable and uncountable -- and the nouns are listed without the apparent regard to rules on English articles. Why is that?0-
  

Top answer

02br 01i 00___________02i 02br 01font 02br 01i 00... 02i 00 02font 02br 02br 00 The reference is to certain categories of entities which become greater. The words 01i 00number, size,02i 00 and 01i 00value02i 00 are thus being used somewhat adjectivally: There's the 01i 00number category02i 00, the 01i 00size category02i 00, and the 01u 00value category02u 00.

— CalifJim

  • 02br 01i 00___________02i 02br 01font 02br 01i 00...
  • 02i 00 02font 02br 02br 00 The reference is to certain categories of entities which become greater.
  • The words 01i 00number, size,02i 00 and 01i 00value02i 00 are thus being used somewhat adjectivally: There's the 01i 00number category02i 00, the 01i 00size category02i 00, and the 01u 00value category02u 00.
  • Such adjectival use of nouns is never plural.
  • Compare: 01i 00We do car repairs 02i 00(not 01i 00car01b 00s02b 00 repairs02i 00).
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2 Answers
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0 01font00Why does it have to be 'unpleasant thing' and not 'another unpleasant thing'?02font02br
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01b00a possible02b00 distributes over the whole list, so the meaning 01u00is02u00 'another':02br
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01i00a possible {danger, problem, or other unpleasant thing} =
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Believer12cite12br
10......12br
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10Now there are three nouns -- number, size, and value -- and one is countable (I think): the word 'number'.12br
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10Now, Why it's not written like this? 12br
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11i10.... become greater in 11u10numbers
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