Nouns which are rarely used alone

1.60 There are some nouns which are rarely used alone, because they need supporting material. They cannot be used without a modifier or qualifier, because the meaning of the noun would not be clear. Some of these nouns have many meanings, others have very little meaning on they own.

For example, you cannot usually refer to someone as 'the head' without saying which organization they are head of. Similarly, you cannot say that there was 'a note' someone's voice without describing it as, for example, 'a triumphant note' or 'a note of triumph'.

These nouns can be used on their own only if it is obvious from the context what is meant. For example, if you have just mentioned a mountain and you say 'the top', it is clear that you mean the top of that mountain.

used with modifiers 1.61 If a modifier is added to one of these nouns, the modifier is usually an adjective or another noun.

...her wide experience of political affairs.

I had detected an apologetic note in the agents voice.

He was stripped of his Soviet citizenship.

Check the water level.

For more information on modifiers, see Chapter 2.

used with qualifiers 1.62 If the noun is followed by a qualifier, the qualifier is usually a prepositional phrase beginning with 'of'.

...at the top of the hill.

There he saw for himself the extent of the danger.

Ever since the rise of industrialism, education has been geared towards producing workers.

...this high level of interest.

For more information on qualifiers, see paragraphs 2.289 to 2.320.

always used with modifiers 1.63 Some nouns are always used with a modifier. For example, it is pointless to say that someone is 'an eater' because all people eat, but you may want to say that he or she is 'a meal eater' or 'a messy eater'.

Similarly, if you use 'range' to refer to a particular set of values, you have to specify which set you mean by referring to a particular 'price range' or 'age range'. If you use 'wear' to mean 'clothing', you have to say what sort of clothing, for example 'sports wear' or 'evening wear'.

Tim was a slow eater.

...the other end of the age range.

The company has plans to expand its casual wear.

always used with possessives 1.64 Some nouns are almost always used with a possessive, that is a possessive determiner, 's, or a prepositional phrase beginning with 'of', because you have to indicate who or what the thing you are talking about relates to or belongs to.

He has been associated with Everyman Opera since its inception.

Advance warning of the approach of enemies must have been of the greatest importance.

...the portrait of a man in his prime.

metaphorical uses 1.65 Nouns which are being used metaphorically often have a modifier or qualifier to indicate what is really being referred to.

...the maze of politics.

He has been prepared to sacrifice this company on the altar of his own political ambitions.

He has worked out a scheme for an economic lifeline by purchasing land.

Lloyd's of London is the heart of the world's insurance industry.

...those on the lower rungs of the professional ladder.

list of nouns rarely used alone 1.66 Many nouns have some meanings which require supporting material and other meanings which do not. For example, most nouns can be used metaphorically. However, there are some nouns which very typically need supporting material in most or all of their meanings. Here is a list of these nouns:

affair approach area back band base bottom boundary branch case centre circumstances citizenship class condition crisis culture depth development discovery eater

edge edition element end enterprise epidemic experience extent feeling field formation fringe ground growth head height impression inception kind length level

limit line matter movement nature note period point position power prime range rate regime relic repertoire rise role scale side sort

stage status structure stuff style system texture theory thought time tone top transfer type version view wave way wear wing world