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Zazzex Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Plurality Questions
Hello,
Question 1.
I looked up a word, "certain," in dictionaries.
McMillan dictionary states:
"certain 1 [never before noun] having no doubts that something is true: sure"
Longman dictionary states:
"certain 1 [not before noun] confident and sure without doubts:"
Shouldn't they say "never before a noun" and "not before a noun"?
(I looked up "noun" in the two dictionaries; both said noun is countable not uncountable.)
What would be the reason of not using an article before "noun"?
Question 2.
McMillan dictionary stated "[never before noun]"
Here, can I say "McMillan dictionary" instead of "A McMillan dictionary"?
Question 3.
McMillan dictionary gave an explanation about "certain": "used for talking about someone when you know their name but nothing else about them."
In my opinion, the above quote seems wrong: first, "their name" should be "their names"; second, because someone is singular "their" should be "his."
Could please you correct the suspected errors?
Thanks a lot for your help
Question 1.
I looked up a word, "certain," in dictionaries.
McMillan dictionary states:
"certain 1 [never before noun] having no doubts that something is true: sure"
Longman dictionary states:
"certain 1 [not before noun] confident and sure without doubts:"
Shouldn't they say "never before a noun" and "not before a noun"?
(I looked up "noun" in the two dictionaries; both said noun is countable not uncountable.)
What would be the reason of not using an article before "noun"?
Question 2.
McMillan dictionary stated "[never before noun]"
Here, can I say "McMillan dictionary" instead of "A McMillan dictionary"?
Question 3.
McMillan dictionary gave an explanation about "certain": "used for talking about someone when you know their name but nothing else about them."
In my opinion, the above quote seems wrong: first, "their name" should be "their names"; second, because someone is singular "their" should be "his."
Could please you correct the suspected errors?
Thanks a lot for your help
Top answer
zazzex Q1) What would be the reason of not using an article before " noun "? It is probably a shortcut to save space. Some dictionaries use abbreviations for grammatical position, but these are not as readable.
- zazzex Q1) What would be the reason of not using an article before " noun "?
- It is probably a shortcut to save space.
- Some dictionaries use abbreviations for grammatical position, but these are not as readable.
- zazzex Q2) Here, can I say " McMillan dictionary " instead of " A McMillan dictionary "?
- I didn't see "A McMillan dictionary" in your text, but use of the indefinite article would imply that there are several different McMillan dictionaries.
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3 Answers
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zazzexQ1) What would be the reason of not using an article before "noun"?It is probably a shortcut to save space. Some dictionaries use abbreviations for grammatical position, but these are not as readable.
zazzexQ2) Here, can I say "McMillan dictionary" instead of "A
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zazzexShouldn't they say "never before a noun" and "not before a noun"?
Normally, "a" would be required. However, the omission of articles is acceptable in an abbreviated ("telegraphic") form of English that is used, for example, in headlines or (as here) notes.
zazzexHere, can I say "McMillan dictionary
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Thank you both.
Q1. Let me be clear. So, in this case, as "their" is a singular pronoun, you should not use "their names", but use "their name" ?
cf. Right, it's "MAC Millan." My mistake.
Q2. Then, should I say
"I looked up the word in Macmillan dictionary."
instead of
"I looked up the word in a Macmillan dictionary." ?
Q1. Let me be clear. So, in this case, as "their" is a singular pronoun, you should not use "their names", but use "their name" ?
cf. Right, it's "MAC Millan." My mistake.
Q2. Then, should I say
"I looked up the word in Macmillan dictionary."
instead of
"I looked up the word in a Macmillan dictionary." ?
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