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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

sequel to noun?

0Hi,02br
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00I think Mr. M said something to the effect that for the kind of sentence below, the combination of 'held' and 'different' makes the sentence countable nad the sentence below is not OK. 02br
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00We 01u00held different02u00 discussion on the topic but couldn't reach agreement.02br
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00Has to be:02br
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00We held different discussions on the topic but couldn't reach agreeement.02br
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00Compare to this: 02br
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00If 'held' and 'different' can cause a difference for the previous sentence, then, can the words 'had' (or possibly 'held' too if it still makes sense) and 'some' or 'a lot of' here can cause the same and make this sentence not OK? I think the sentence below is OK -- just a matter of conceptual difference.02br
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00We 01u00had (or held??) some/a lot of discussion02u00 on the topic but couldn't reach agreement.02br
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00Why does no. 2 makes a good sentence, which I think it is, and no.1 doesn't? 0-
  

Top answer

0I think the key is in the word "different," which can be used in at least two ways. " Why can't you say, "Different stroke for different folk,"? You could say "I decided to try01b 00 01u 00a02u 02b 00 different stroke," but it's definitely countable.

— Avangi

  • 0I think the key is in the word "different," which can be used in at least two ways.
  • " Why can't you say, "Different stroke for different folk,"?
  • You could say "I decided to try01b 00 01u 00a02u 02b 00 different stroke," but it's definitely countable.
  • It's this second usage of "different" that makes it countable.
  • " It would have to be plural.
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4 Answers
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0I think the key is in the word "different," which can be used in at least two ways. "Her approach to the problem was quite different." AND "Different strokes for different folks." Why can't you say, "Different stroke for different folk,"? You could say "I decided to try01b00 01u00a02u02b00 different stroke," but it's definitely countable. It's this
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0You 'hold' 01b00an02b00 organized event. We held 01b00a02b00 [conference / birthday party / fund raiser / discussion / ...].02br
00You can 01i00have a lot of discussion on a topic02i00, however. 02br
00(But 01i00to have some discussion02i00 is awkward. I wouldn't use it.)02br
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1blockquote
01cite10Anonymous12cite10We 11u10held different12u10 discussion on the topic but couldn't reach agreement.12blockquote
10Sorry, I can't get this out of my mind. You wish to stress that the discussion was 01b01i01u00varied02u02i02b00, which you don'
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01cite10Avangi12cite10Hope I'm not compounding a felony, guys.12blockquote
10 No! I think he wants examples of a noun that can be used 02br
001. as a countable noun: 01i01b00a02b00 different X / different X's.02br
02i02br
002. as a noncountable
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