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person car', 'a three-person room'. This is where 'person' is being used to describe
the noun. '2  person' is the adjective describing 'car' and as you know we don't put
an 's' on an adjective. So far example we talk about a 'two-week holiday' not a 'two-
weeks holiday' or a 'three-year course' not 'a three-years course'. So hear we use
'two-person car'.
So in summary, normally you find 'people' as the plural form of 'person'  one
person, three people. Sometimes you'll find people used to describe the nationality
so you'll find 'peoples' to describe different nationalities and sometimes you'll find the
word 'persons' in more formal styles of writing or in signs for example.
I hope that answers your question.
Problems and troubles
A Writer from Cameroon in West Africa writes:
I'm having difficulty distinguishing between problems and troubles. Can you please
explain to me how to use both terms correctly?
Problem
Problem is a countable noun and describes something that causes trouble or
difficulty. We talk about having a problem or having problems with something,
not about having a trouble. Compare the following:
" I've got a big problem with my computer. Can you come and have a look at
it?
(NOT: I've got a big trouble with my computer. Can you come and have a
look at it.)
" I can't meet him in Paris and he can't meet me in London. It's a real problem.
(NOT: I can't meet him in Paris and he can't meet me in London. It's a real
trouble.)
We also talk about mathematical problems and solving problems of various
sorts. Trouble cannot be used in this way:
" Children with learning difficulties find mathematical problems impossible.
" We couldn't solve the problem of getting across London in less than two
hours.
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With the verb cause, we can use both trouble and problems, problem as a
countable noun and trouble as an uncountable noun. Compare the following:
" The recent football hooliganism in Sunderland caused the police a lot of
trouble.
" The current drought is causing serious problems for the farmers in this area.
No problem! - What's your problem?
We also have the expressions No problem! which we use to say that we will be
happy to do something or are happy for something to happen and What's your
problem? which we use in a threatening way to ask someone about something we
disapprove of. Compare the following:
" Could you look after Jimmy for me for five minutes while I pop out to the
shops? ~ No problem!
" I'll finish this off tomorrow, if you don't mind. ~ No problem.
" I don't like people wearing face jewellery. ~ What's your problem? It's quite
harmless.
I think it could cause health problems in later life. ~ Well, that's their
problem!
trouble
Trouble is mainly used as an uncountable noun and describes problems, worries or
difficulties. Trouble can also be used as a verb. Compare the following:
" I'm having trouble with the printer now. Can you come and have a look at it?
" I'm a bit deaf and I had trouble hearing what she said as she spoke very
softly.
" Why are you crying? What's troubling you? ~ It troubles me that I haven't
heard from him for five weeks.
" I'm sorry to trouble you, but could you move your car forward a bit. It's
blocking my drive.
In addition to cause, the verbs that the noun trouble collocate with include the
following: put to, take, go to, save, get into, run into, and be in. These verbs
cannot be used with problem in the same way. Compare the following:
" I'm sorry to put you to all this trouble ~ It's no trouble at all!
" I'm going to take the trouble to bake my own bread, rather than buy it from
the shop.
" If you buy a dishwasher, it will save you the trouble of washing your dishes
by hand.
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" We ran into trouble as soon as we reached the motorway. It was jammed all
the way from Epping to Cambridge.
" I shall get into real / big trouble, if I lend you my brother's bike.
" I was in serious trouble. I had run out of water and was still ten miles from
the nearest oasis.
No trouble!
Note that the expression No trouble! is used in a similar way to No problem!
" I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long ~ That's no trouble!
problem / trouble + adjs
Note from the examples above that the adjectives big, real and serious collocate
with both trouble and problems. Note that fundamental, insoluble and
intractable collocate only with problem:
" A fundamental problem in the design of this car is the transverse engine.
" It was an intractable / insoluble problem. There was no way out of it.
A question from Jean-Francois from Limoges, France:
I find it difficult to understand the word 'quite' in a conversation. Does it mean
'partially' or 'totally'? Please help!
Alex Gooch answers:
Hello Jean-Francois, thanks for your question. You asked whether 'quite' means
'partially' or 'totally'. The simple answer is that it has both meanings.
If we say:
"I am quite happy"...
This can mean that I'm partially, fairly, somewhat happy but not completely happy -
or it can mean I'm totally, entirely, completely, 100% happy.
Your next question will probably be: How can we tell the difference?
When somebody says:
"I am quite happy"...
How do we know if they mean partially happy or totally happy?
Well, I'm sorry, but simply reading the sentence on the page can't help us with this.
If I read the words, 'I am quite happy', I really don't know if this means'partially'
happy or 'completely' happy. However, don't despair - there are some clues that can
help us solve this problem.
Firstly, we have some adjectives in English which include the idea of 'very'.
For example:
'delighted' means 'very pleased'
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'exhausted' means 'very tired'
'enormous' means 'very big', and so on.
'Quite' is often used with one of these adjectives, and in this situation, it always
means 'totally'.
So, if we say:
"I am quite exhausted"...
This means I'm absolutely, completely, 100% exhausted.
If you think about this, it's logical because it's impossible to be 'somewhat very tired'
- that doesn't make any sense.
Secondly, we have to think about the context. Often we can clearly understand which
meaning of 'quite' the speaker intends, by looking at the meaning of what he or she
is saying.
William's here with me... (William: Hello!)
Let's imagine that William has recently been ill:
Alex: Are you feeling better now?
William: Yes, I'm feeling quite healthy, thank you. In fact, I feel great!
Here, William probably means that he has fully recovered, and he's feeling 100%
healthy.
On the other hand, we could have a conversation like this: [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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