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6.7 Uncountable nouns
A countable noun is something you can count - one apple, two apples. An
uncountable noun is something that, at least in English, you cannot count. You can-
not say an information, these informations etc. Information is considered a mass,
and for English speakers it is not easily split into different parts.
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6.8 Pronouns
Spinach leaves can be clearly separated and counted, but when cooked they become
one big mass. You cannot clearly and easily identify cooked spinach as separate
parts - so you cannot say these spinaches taste very good, but only this spinach
tastes very good
. Similarly, you can count cars but not traffic, steps forward but not
progress
, comments but not feedback.
These kinds of subtleties do not normally cause problems. But when an uncount-
able noun is referred to in a later phrase with a plural pronoun (they, these, those)
or adjective (many, few) it can create confusion for readers.
S1. * Such feedbacks are vital when analyzing the queries. At subsequent stages in the proce-
dure, for instance after steps 3 and 4, they are also useful for assessing …
S2. * Such feedbacks are vital when analyzing the queries. At subsequent stages in the proce-
dure, for instance after steps 3 and 4, many of them are also useful for assessing …
Note: feedback is uncountable, so it has no plural form. S1 and S2 are thus not cor-
rect English.
In S1, a native speaker would think that they must refer to queries, since queries is
plural. In S2, the reader would be totally confused and would probably be unable to
understand what many of them refers to. Possible revised versions of S1 and S2 are:
S3. Such feedback is vital when … At subsequent stages it is also useful for …
S4. Such feedback is vital when … At subsequent stages much of it is also useful for …
Pronouns are in any case a constant source of ambiguity in English, so the best
solution is to repeat the noun that the pronoun refers to.
S5. Such feedback is vital when … At subsequent stages (a lot of) this feedback is also …
6.8 Pronouns
Some sentences that would not be ambiguous in your language may become
ambiguous in English. For example:
S1. *I put the book in the car and then I left it there all day.
In English we do not know whether it refers to the book or the car. Some languages
have a case system or a gender for nouns. Thus if your word for book is - for
instance – masculine, and your word for car is feminine, you will use a different
form of it to indicate whether the noun it refers to is masculine or feminine, and this
will make it clear for your reader. In English it can refer to all nouns (apart from
those that refer to human beings).
In any case, if you use it in one sentence to refer to a noun you have mentioned in
a previous sentence, you may be forcing to the reader to re-read the previous sen-
tence to remember what it refers to. So if you think that there could be possible
ambiguity or that the reader may have forgotten the subject, then simply repeat the
key word:
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6 Avoiding Ambiguity and Vagueness
S2. I put the book in the car and then I left the book there all day.
You may think this is not very elegant, but it is much clearer for your reader and is
not considered bad style in technical English.
In S3 does they refer to all three locations, to Canada and the Netherlands, or just
to the Canaries?
S3. * We could go to Australia, Canada or the Netherlands, but they are a long way from
here.
To avoid misunderstandings, be more specific:
S4. Australia, Canada or the Netherlands, all of which are a long way from here.
S5. Australia, Canada or the Netherlands. But Canada and the Netherlands are a long way
from here.
S6. Australia, Canada or the Netherlands. But the Netherlands are a long way from here.
In S7 what do one / this / these refer to? (a) user names (b) passwords?
S7. * No user names or passwords are required, unless the system administrator decides that
one
is necessary. … decides that this is necessary. … decides that these are necessary.
Interpretations (a) and (b) are much clearer rewritten as in S8 and S9, respectively.
S8. … unless the system administrator decides that a user name is necessary.
S9. … unless the system administrator decides that a password is necessary.
In S10 and S11 what do this and them refer to?
S10. * There are two ways to learn a language: take private lessons or learn it in the country
where the language is spoken but this entails spending a lot of money.
S11. * We cut the trees into sectors, then separated the logs from the branches, and then burnt
them
.
Does this in S10 refer to the cost of private lessons, the cost of living in the country
where the language is spoken, or both? Does them in S11 refer to just the branches
or the logs as well? To clarify, you just need to repeat the key concept.
S12. There are two ways to learn a language: take private lessons or learn it in the country
where the language is spoken. However living in a foreign country entails spending a lot
of money.
S13. There are two ways to learn a language: take private lessons or learn it in the country
where the language is spoken. However both these solutions entail spending a lot of
money.
In S12 it is now clear the cost only refers to living in a foreign country, and
S13 clarifies that lessons plus living in a foreign country have a high cost. In S13,
solutions has been used to replace ways in the first part of the sentence – using
synonyms for non-key words is fine.
To clarify S11, you just need to replace them with branches (if it is just the branches
that were burnt), or with both of them (if both branches and logs were burnt).
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6.9 Referring backwards: the former, the latter
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