38. Nouns Used like Adjectives

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A noun can go before another noun to describe it in an adjective-like way

RECOGNIZING NOUNS USED AS ADJECTIVES

It is very common in academic and professional writing for a noun to be described by one or more other nouns placed before it. Such combinations lack separating commas, and their nouns do not refer to the same thing (for information about paired nouns that do, see 77. Apposition).

Nouns used like this can be hard to distinguish from adjectives. Compare:

Adjectives Describing Nouns

HIGH PRICES,    LEARNED PROFESSORS,    THE OPEN DOOR,   A DAILY STRUGGLE,     NUMEROUS DIFFICULT PROBLEMS
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Nouns Describing Nouns

FUEL PRICES,   UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS,  THE CAR DOOR,  A FREEDOM STRUGGLE,     WORD DEFINITION PROBLEMS

As the last example here shows, there can be more than one adjectival noun before another noun.

One difference between nouns and adjectives used in this way is that nouns always indicate a subclass of the noun idea after them, whereas adjectives only sometimes do (see 283. Lesser-Known Facts about Adjectives, #4).

The best way to discover whether a word before a noun is an adjective or adjectival noun is to reverse the two words and see if their meaning can be kept by placing a preposition between them. This is possible with adjectival nouns (prices of fuel, professors at universities, the door of a car, a struggle for freedom and problems with the definition of words), but not adjectives, which need who or which after them instead (prices which are high, professors who are learned, etc.).

Note the variability of the prepositions involved. For a fuller survey of the possibilities, see 136. Types of Description by Nouns. Note also that the reverse process – reordering nouns so as to lose a preposition – is a useful option for making writing more concise (see 265. Grammar Tools for Better Writing, #3), or for just changing the way it is worded (see 205. Paraphrasing Prepositions with Words of Other Kinds).

The preposition test even works with noun-describing words that could be either a noun or an adjective, like English or male. If, for example, it is known that an English teacher is naming what the teacher teaches rather than his/her nationality, then “a teacher of English” will make sense, establishing English as a noun; whereas if a nationality is being named, then “a teacher who is English” will make sense, establishing English as an adjective.

In writing, the right interpretation is usually guided by context; but in speech, pronunciation can be a clue, since the noun use before another noun is often said more strongly more than the adjective use (an ENGlish teacher).

A similar situation exists with -ing verbs directly before a noun, since they can be either a noun-like “gerund” or an adjective-like “participle”. Thus walking, which commonly occurs in walking wounded, walking stick and walking tours, is a participle in the first, a gerund in the second (sticks do not walk!) and probably a participle in the third (see 71. Gerund and Participle Uses of “-ing”). The gerund use would again have more spoken emphasis (see 243. Pronunciation Secrets, #4).
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PROBLEMS IN THE USE OF ADJECTIVAL NOUNS

1. Misreading Adjectival Nouns

During reading, there is a slight danger of taking an adjectival noun to be an ordinary one. This might happen when a reader is expecting an ordinary noun, for example an object after a recent object-needing verb. An adjectival noun is in danger of being understood as an expected ordinary one because it will be met first, before the ordinary noun that it is describing. For more, see 2. Interrupted Structures and 15. Half-Read Sentences.

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2. Using the Wrong Article with Adjectival Nouns

When two nouns are paired together, which one determines whether the article before is the or a or nothing? What should the article be in this sentence? 

(a) … world wealth has greatly increased. 

The rule is that the article goes with the last noun in a group, in this case wealth. Since wealth is uncountable, the article cannot be a. Since wealth has general meaning, the is also ruled out: uncountable general-meaning nouns need a “zero” article (see 110. Nouns without “the” or “a”).

The problem that many learners of English have is being influenced by the first noun, here world. Since this is a countable noun that nearly always has the (see 89. Using “the” with General Meaning), there is a temptation to write the even when the noun is adjectival. For more on article usage before adjectival nouns, see 47. Article Errors with Proper Nouns and 138. Test Your Command of Grammar 1, #2.

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3. Confusing Adjectival Nouns and Nouns with an Apostrophe Ending

Nouns used like adjectives do not have an apostrophe ending, but sometimes they are very similar to nouns that do. This is the case, for example, with customer accounts, which could also be written with -s’ (customers’ accounts). The problem is that the choice is not always so free: sometimes it involves a significant meaning difference, sometimes an apostrophe ending is not possible at all, and sometimes it is the only possibility. An example of where a difference exists is with weekend work and a weekend’s work, the first meaning “work for weekends”, the second “work lasting a weekend”.

For errors to be avoided in this area, there is a need for a good knowledge of how apostrophe endings work. This is, unfortunately, a complex area, but within this blog some advice is available in 58. Optional Apostrophe Endings.

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4. Using an Adjective Instead of an Adjectival Noun

Some past students of mine described their place of study as a “Philosophical Centre” when its correct name was “Philosophy Centre”. The difference is that the former, with an adjective, means that the centre itself is “philosophical” (just as the adjective English before teacher tells us what the teacher is), while the latter, with an adjectival noun, means that the centre is for Philosophy (in the same way as the noun English suggests a teacher of English).

Other examples of wrongly-used adjectives are healthy advice, industrial spokesperson, photographic workshop and advanced warning (for the difference between advance and advanced, see 261. Words with Complicated Grammar 3, #2). Sometimes, however, there is a practically free choice between an adjective and an adjectival noun, e.g. autumn/autumnal colours, grammar/grammatical rules and manager/managerial vacancy.

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5. Placing an Adjective before an Adjectival Noun

It is not an error to place an adjective before an adjectival noun, but there is a need to appreciate that such adjectives are capable of being linked with either of the two nouns after them, and might thus be understood as going with the wrong one (see 124. Structures with a Double Meaning 1). In many cases, the right interpretation is clear (e.g. in undesirable police accidents the adjective surely goes with the second noun), but sometimes it is less so (e.g. important customer accounts).
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6. Making Adjectival Nouns Plural

Most adjectival nouns are singular in form even when their meaning is plural. This was clear among the earlier examples, where engine in engine oil became plural engines in the non-adjectival oil for engines, and word in word definition problems became plural words in problems with the definition of words. This trend holds even when an adjectival noun has a number before it, as in a two-hour meeting or a six-page essay.

However, not all adjectival nouns are singular. Examples where plurals occur are Beatles records, the Roads Minister, materials design, mathematics departments, solutions groups, sales performance, careers advisers, the arms race and a measles epidemic. The rest of this discussion focuses on this problem.

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WHEN SHOULD ADJECTIVAL NOUNS BE PLURAL?

There seems to be no single rule in answer to this question, but rather a list of rules. An easy one to remember involves nouns that have no singular form, such as those in mathematics departments (and other combinations with an –ics subject name, like economics), measles epidemics and customs officers. If these have no singular, their adjectival forms have to be plural.

The other main reason for making an adjectival noun plural rather than singular seems to be a need to avoid ambiguity. One type is simple singular/plural ambiguity. Consider the phrase Beatles records. If we said Beatle records instead, we might be misunderstood as referring to records by individual Beatles, such as John Lennon or Paul McCartney, who made many records by themselves as well as with the other three Beatles. Thus there is the option of using the plural adjectival form in order to make it clear that all of the Beatles are meant. In the same way, we might prefer to say a solutions group instead of a solution group in order to make it clear that the group was concerned with solutions to many problems and not just one. 

A slightly different type of ambiguity that using a plural adjectival noun can overcome involves nouns with variable countable and uncountable meanings, such as material. Uncountably this word means something that can be used to create something else, such as wood used for making doors or photographs used to tell a story. Used countably as a plural, however, it often means “written explanations and exercises for learning”. If this word was always used in the singular form when adjectival, we would not always be able to tell whether the countable or uncountable usage was intended, since the main indicators of countability (article a, plural –s ending) are both normally disallowed with adjectival nouns. If it was important to clarify that a countable meaning was intended, the use of the plural form would be one way to do it, as in materials design.

Numerous other nouns can vary like material (see 23. Noun Countability Clues 3). Adjectival uses that similarly include -s include languages department (signalling many languages are studied, rather than language in general) and metals extraction (emphasising that more than a single type of metal is extracted). 

The phrase a careers adviser is perhaps associated with yet another type of ambiguity. It would appear that using a singular adjectival noun (a career adviser) changes the preposition link between the two nouns. Instead of meaning “a person who gives advice about careers”, it seems to mean “a person who gives advice by career”. The reason why this interpretation is more natural could be because the noun career is actually quite often used in this singular adjectival sense to mean “by career”. Examples are career writers, career footballers and career lawyers. Alternative implied prepositions are quite common (see 136. Types of Description by Nouns). They will not always match the choice between a singular and a plural adjectival noun, but they will sometimes. 

Thus, adjectival nouns are fraught with pitfalls, and do not fail to produce errors in the writing of advanced learners of English. Studying their various properties is hence likely to be well worth the effort.

37. Subordination: Grammar for Good Repetition

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Saying something the reader already knows has its uses and can be done acceptably by means of subordination

THE NEED FOR SUITABLE REPETITION GRAMMAR

The Guinlist post 24. Good and Bad Repetition suggests that repetition can be useful for linking or reminding, provided it is done in a grammatically right way. If it is not, it will look like bad repetition – the kind where the writer looks to have forgotten about the first mention or to be merely trying to fill up an empty page!

In this post I wish to present a number of grammatical options that can ensure well-intended repetition is done in the right way. Most involve the grammatical concept of subordination. For some other possibilities, see 156. Mentioning what the Reader Knows Already.

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REPETITION BY MEANS OF SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Using a conjunction allows a writer to add a statement containing a verb to a sentence where there is already at least one other verb, and it also shows how the added statement relates meaning-wise to the rest of the sentence (see 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions). Consider this example with the conjunction as:

(a) As unemployment INCREASES, wages WILL TEND to fall.

The two verbs required by as are capitalised. The meaning of as is that the event expressed after it (unemployment increases) is close in time to the other event in the sentence and is helping to cause it (see 225. Simultaneous Occurrence).

Conjunctions are subdivided into two kinds. Some make both of the linked statements sound equally important, while others make the one next to them sound less important than the other. The first kind, usually called “coordinating”, are exemplified by and, but, so, yet, for, or and nor (also one of the uses of only: see 251. The Grammar of “Only“, #5).

Conjunctions of the second kind, which are more numerous, are usually called “subordinating”. Examples are after, although, as, because, if, since, until, when and while. They are recognizable from their ability to go not just between the two linked verbs but also before them at the start of their sentence, as in (a) above (see 25. Conjunction Positioning and 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions, #3).

It is subordinating conjunctions used at the start of a sentence, as in (a) above, that are useful for good repetition. By making the words after them sound less important than the rest of the sentence, they indicate that the sentence is not “about” that, but rather is about what the rest of the sentence is saying. In other words, as shows sentence (a) to be not about unemployment but about wages. The part after as is suggested to be “something you already know” – a crucial message in order to avoid bad repetition.

Mention should also be made of two “double” conjunctions that involve subordination: not only… but also… and not… any more than… . For details of their use, see 64. Double Conjunctions.

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REPETITION BY MEANS OF PREPOSITIONS

Most conjunctions can be paraphrased by a preposition of similar meaning. This can only happen, however, if the verb after the conjunction is either removed or changed to a noun-like equivalent (see 84. Seven Things to Know About Prepositions, #4). Sentence (a) above can be written with a preposition like this:

(b) WITH increases in unemployment, wages will tend to fall.

The preposition corresponding to as here is with (see 3. Multi-Use Words, #3). After it, the original verb increases has been made into the noun increases. It could also be the participle increasing, placed either before or after unemployment (see 144. Words that are Often Heard Wrongly, #5).

Examples of other conjunctions with their corresponding prepositions are because/ because of (see 61. “Since” versus “Because”), although/ despite, before/ before, as/ like (see 53. “As”, “Like” and “Such As”), in case/ in case of (see 118. Problems with Conditional “if”), and not only/ besides. Here is how these last can be used:

(c) Not only ARE bicycles cheap, but they also provide exercise.

(d) Besides BEING cheap, bicycles provide exercise.

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REPETITION BY MEANS OF VERB-LIKE NOUNS

The lesser importance of a repeated idea in a sentence can also be communicated by changing its verb into a related noun (see 131. Uses of “Action” Nouns). Consider this example:

(e) The heat of the sun causes moisture on the ground to evaporate and rise into the atmosphere. This evaporation enables clouds to form.

The underlined noun is clearly a repetition of evaporate…into the atmosphere, but is equally clearly not the main message of its sentence. Note that “action” nouns do not always have this reducing effect: they need to be repeating something to do so. Here are some examples where they are not:

(f) Because of the sun’s heat, there is evaporation of moisture on the ground.

(g) The sun’s heat causes evaporation of moisture on the ground.

Further examples of “good” repetition by means of this + noun are available within these pages in an exercise at the end of 28. Pronoun Errors.

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REPETITION BY MEANS OF RELATIVE PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES

Another way to subordinate a repeated point is by means of who, whom, which or that (see 34. Relative Pronouns and Commas). Consider the statement Some television programmes are unsuitable for children. If we wished to say something about these television programmes in a much later sentence, where the reader needed first to be reminded of the original statement, we could repeat the sentence with which added before the verb, like this:

(h) Television programmes which are unsuitable for children…

The words which are unsuitable for children imply that the reader already knows that some TV programmes are unsuitable for children – in other words that a reminder is being given of this known fact. The new point (e.g. should not be shown in the early evening) could then be added onto the end of the sentence, its verb allowed there because of the joining nature of which.

Finally, good repetition can even be achieved with adjectives (and adjective-like alternatives, such as participles and adjectival nouns). This is because these are all similar to relative pronouns in describing nouns. The good repetition in (h) above can be rephrased with an adjective like this:

(i) Unsuitable television programmes should not be shown (to children) in the early evening.

A participle might be more likely where the verb in the corresponding relative clause was not a form of BE. If, for example, the words after which in (h) were require concentration, the subordination in (i) might be television programmes requiring concentration (see 52. Participles Placed Just after their Noun).

Now here is an exercise to practise or test ability to use subordination and related structures.

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PRACTICE EXERCISE: SUBORDINATION

Below are some statements that can each be converted into a subordinate point in a longer sentence. How can this be achieved? (Various answers are possible; suggestions are given below).

1. Large vehicles produce more greenhouse gases than small ones.
Large vehicles  …………………………………………… should be taxed heavily.

2. A gap is inevitable between rich and poor.
……………………………………………. needs to be explained.

3. Exercise maintains physical fitness.
Exercise ……………………………………………. ensures mental alertness.

4. New languages develop out of old ones.
…………………………………………… is illustrated by the emergence of French from Latin.

5. Some insects use clever concealment devices to escape predators.
…………………………………………… others are able to move very quickly.

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ANSWERS

1(a).  Large vehicles, which produce more greenhouse gases than small ones, should be taxed heavily.  1(b).  Large vehicles, since they produce more greenhouse gases than small ones, should be taxed heavily.

2(a)  The inevitability of the gap between rich and poor needs to be explained. 2(b)  The inevitable gap between rich and poor needs to be explained. 2(c)  The fact that the gap between rich and poor is inevitable needs to be explained.

3(a)  Exercise not only maintains physical fitness, but also ensures mental alertness. 3(b)  Exercise, which maintains physical fitness, also ensures mental alertness. 3(c)  Exercise, besides maintaining physical fitness, ensures mental alertness.

4(a)  The development of new languages out of old ones is illustrated by the emergence of French from Latin. 4(b)  New languages developing out of old ones are illustrated by the emergence of French from Latin. 4(c)  The fact that new languages develop out of old ones is illustrated by the emergence of French from Latin.

5(a)  Whereas some insects use clever concealment devices to escape predators, others are able to move very quickly. 5(b)  Unlike those insects that use clever concealment devices to escape predators, others are able to move very quickly.

36. Words Left Out to Avoid Repetition

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Repeated words can be left out in some contexts but not in others

ELLIPSIS IN ENGLISH

Ellipsis is the grammatically acceptable exclusion of one or more words from a sentence because their meaning can be easily understood without them. Excluding words with obvious meaning is not always grammatically possible, but it very often is. It is rarely compulsory, but is mostly preferred because including obvious words for no good reason is considered poor style (see 24. Good and Bad Repetition).

Ellipsis can be a problem for inexperienced English users in both writing and reading. Writers need to know where it is and is not grammatically possible, while readers need the ability to recognise it and to identify the excluded words (computers do too – see 68. How Computers Get Grammar Wrong 1). Recognition alone is not sufficient, as the following joke shows:

(a) One friend asks another who is about to go shopping: “Would you mind getting something for me? I need a carton of milk; and if they have eggs, get 6.”

When the shopping comes back, there are 6 cartons of milk and no eggs. The one who requested the eggs asks: “Why did you buy 6 cartons of milk?” The other replies: “They had eggs”.

The underlined words are the example of ellipsis. The unmentioned word is eggs. The joke lies in the fact that the hearer understands a different previously-mentioned word, carton. The understood message is “If they have eggs, get 6 cartons of milk”, so 6 cartons of milk are purchased instead of 6 eggs. This interpretation is possible, but unlikely in the context. Common sense makes it highly probable that the omitted word is eggs.

The following sections – and the links within them – illustrate a small number of ellipsis varieties. The main point I wish to make is the need to be aware of what ellipsis is and its importance for using English correctly. Readers seeking a full list of ellipsis rules in English are referred to grammatical descriptions of the normal kind.

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EXAMPLES OF READING PROBLEMS CAUSED BY ELLIPSIS

The following two extracts seemed to be difficult for learners of English who encountered them in a reading test. How easy is it to identify the ellipsis in each? 

(b) As firms become larger and the economy more monopolised, the competition that originally impelled firms to invest their profits in machinery weakens, and with it the incentive to continue this sort of investment. 

(c) By drawing a radical ontological distinction between body as extended and mind as pure thought, Descartes, in search of certitude, had paradoxically created intellectual chaos. 

In (b) there are two omitted verbs: becomes after the economy and weakens at the end. In (c) the omitted word is thought: Descartes distinguished between body as “extended thought” and mind as “pure thought”. The omitted words in (b) come after the words they repeat, but the one in (c) comes before (and is perhaps more difficult as a result).

A feature of the omission in both sentences above is the involvement of the conjunction and (underlined). Conjunctions – particularly and – are very often associated with word omission (see 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions, #6). If in the eggs joke above is a further example, and others will be found below. However, conjunctions are not a compulsory requirement for word omission: see, for example, 102. Adjectives with No Noun 2, #1.

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SOME GRAMMAR RULES FOR WRITING ELLIPSIS

A primary concern when ellipsis is a possibility is the need to write clearly. Ellipsis can easily obstruct clarity: excluded words that seem obvious to a writer are not always so obvious to the reader. Therefore, if there is any indication that excluding a particular word might cause this problem, mentioning it instead is desirable (see 233. Structures with a Double Meaning 3, #5).

Elsewhere in this blog, situations where ellipsis is not grammatically possible are described in 8. Object-Dropping Errors and 192. When BE can be Omitted. Also relevant is 158. Abbreviated Sentences. In this section, I wish to consider one use of ellipsis that is absent from most grammar books, and one that is especially problematic for many learners of English. The first of these is illustrated in the following: 

(d) This book deals with the early history and customs of the Celts.

The omitted words here are the early before customs. In other words, this sentence says that two early characteristics of the Celts will be dealt with: early history and early customs. How does one know that the adjective early must be understood as describing customs as much as history? The clue is in the ellipsis of the before customs. It implies that the adjective too has been omitted. How could the sentence be written so as to prevent early from being understood with customs? The answer is by not omitting the: 

(e) This section deals with the early history and the customs of the Celts. 

Now the promise is to cover all Celtic customs, not just early ones. There seems to be a general rule here: if there is an adjective before two nouns linked by and, and if the second noun’s article is left out to avoid repetition, the adjective describes both nouns. For another example, see 288. Grammatical Subtleties, #6. The rule shows that the choice between using and not using ellipsis sometimes depends on meaning.

The second ellipsis rule that I am focussing on here again relates to conjunctions. Consider the missing word in this sentence:

(f) Water evaporates and … forms clouds. 

The repeated idea that has been left out is, of course, water (or it). Now consider what happens when a different conjunction is used: 

(g) As water evaporates, it forms clouds. 

The meaning here is similar, but the repeated idea cannot be left out. There is no logical reason for this requirement – many languages would allow it to be left out, while many others like English would not. The difference between sentences (f) and (g) reflects the fact that the conjunctions are of two different kinds. The conjunction and is technically called “co-ordinating”, while as is “subordinating.

These conjunction types can be understood in terms of both meaning and grammar. In meaning terms, a co-ordinator gives the verb after it the same importance as the other verb in the sentence – there is no “main” verb; while a subordinator makes its verb less important. In grammar terms, a coordinator can only be placed between the two verbs that it links, while a subordinator can go either before or between them (see 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions, #3). The rule for ellipsis with these two conjunction types is that when two verbs have the same subject, coordinating conjunctions allow the second subject mention to be omitted but subordinating ones do not. 

The main coordinating conjunctions are and, but, so, or, nor and for (some linguists would include yet, then and i.e. too). Subordinators, which are more numerous, include as, as soon as, when, whenever, once, while, if, after, before, though, although, because, until, whereas, since, that, so that, provided that, in case and than. There looks to be a fairly heavy learning load here, but in fact there need be none at all: it is always possible not to use ellipsis after a conjunction, so if in doubt do just that. 

Curiously, subordinating conjunctions do allow ellipsis of a repeated subject if a form of the verb BE is also left out. Here are some examples: 

(h) Most snakes, unless attacked, will not bite.

(i) Walking, albeit slow, enables places to be appreciated.

(j) Once practised, grammar rules are easily remembered. 

The omitted words here are respectively they are, it is and they have been. Note that both words each time must be omitted, and sometimes – in (i) for example – the omission is not possible at the end of a sentence.

The conjunction albeit in (i) is probably used more often with ellipsis than without (see 191. Exotic Grammar Structures 3, #1). Because, on the other hand, is the opposite: a rare subordinating conjunction that does not usually allow this sort of ellipsis.

The verb BE can be left out in a number of other places besides this one. For details, see 192. When BE can be Omitted.