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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Two questions with an uncountable noun
Hi. Let me show you two phrases with what looks to be identical forms: two adjectives connected by the conjunction "and" and followed by an uncountable noun.
old and new equipment - now, this looks to be saying "old equipment" and "new equipment."
new and fully paid equipment - now, this looks to be saying "the equipment that is both new and fully paid."
Now, the question is, "Is it up to the context to tell us whether it means one or two in situations like the ones above?" (I hope I have phrased/wrote my question right to ask what I meant to ask.)
old and new equipment - now, this looks to be saying "old equipment" and "new equipment."
new and fully paid equipment - now, this looks to be saying "the equipment that is both new and fully paid."
Now, the question is, "Is it up to the context to tell us whether it means one or two in situations like the ones above?" (I hope I have phrased/wrote my question right to ask what I meant to ask.)
Top answer
If you have mutually exclusive adjectives such as "old" and "new" then you're forced to conclude that the adjectives apply to different items. In other cases the meaning can be ambiguous. For example, "yellow and white flowers" could mean "yellow flowers and white flowers" or it could mean that the colour of each flower is a combination of yellow and white.
- If you have mutually exclusive adjectives such as "old" and "new" then you're forced to conclude that the adjectives apply to different items.
- In other cases the meaning can be ambiguous.
- For example, "yellow and white flowers" could mean "yellow flowers and white flowers" or it could mean that the colour of each flower is a combination of yellow and white.
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1 Answers
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If you have mutually exclusive adjectives such as "old" and "new" then you're forced to conclude that the adjectives apply to different items. In other cases the meaning can be ambiguous. For example, "yellow and white flowers" could mean "yellow flowers and white flowers" or it could mean that the colour of each flower is a combination of yellow and white.
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