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command: countable or uncountable?



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
deceptive vs. deceitful/tricky/fraudulent | the meaing of the word 'chime'
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command: countable or uncountable? #1 (permalink) Mon Oct 22, 2007 7:38 am   command: countable or uncountable?
 

Hi,

What kind of noun is "command" (in the meaning of "knowledge"): countable or uncountable?
From what I have seen, it is countable.
He has a good command of German

but in the dictionary entry for this noun, it is stated that
Quote:
command (KNOWLEDGE)
noun [S or U]


Could you tell me what S stands for?

Thanks !
Lost_Soul
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command: countable or uncountable? #2 (permalink) Mon Oct 22, 2007 7:52 am   command: countable or uncountable?
 

I'm not sure but I think that 'S' stands for 'singular.'
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command: countable or uncountable? #3 (permalink) Mon Oct 22, 2007 7:55 am   command: countable or uncountable?
 

Then why do S(singular) and U(uncountable) stand in line like they are mutually exclusive?
Is it because "command" can be either countable singular or uncountable...
If so, I'd be grateful if someone gave me an example where "command" is uncountable...
That's a mystery to me ...
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command: countable or uncountable? #4 (permalink) Mon Oct 22, 2007 8:02 am   command: countable or uncountable?
 

Alex, I just looked this word up in the Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary:

KNOWLEDGE
5 [U, sing.] ~ (of sth) your knowledge of sth; your ability to do or use sth, especially a language: Applicants will be expected to have (a) good command of English.
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command: countable or uncountable? #5 (permalink) Mon Oct 22, 2007 8:15 am   command: countable or uncountable?
 

KLPNO wrote:
Alex, I just looked this word up in the Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary:

KNOWLEDGE
5 [U, sing.] ~ (of sth) your knowledge of sth; your ability to do or use sth, especially a language: Applicants will be expected to have (a) good command of English.


I think that this word can be either singular or uncountable. If it's used as uncountable, there's no (zero) article before it. If it's used as singular there is an article before it.
Klpno
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command: countable or uncountable? #6 (permalink) Mon Oct 22, 2007 8:18 am   command: countable or uncountable?
 

Hi, KLPNO

Thank you, you did a good research job ! :)

But I'd like to ask native English speakers if these 2 sentences sound equally good:

1. He has good command of English
2. He has a good command of English

Thanks !
Lost_Soul
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command: countable or uncountable? #7 (permalink) Mon Oct 22, 2007 8:36 am   command: countable or uncountable?
 

lost_soul wrote:
Hi, KLPNO

Thank you, you did a good research job ! :)

But I'd like to ask native English speakers if these 2 sentences sound equally good:

1. He has good command of English
2. He has a good command of English

Thanks !


Hi Alex...

Believe yourself...."He has a good command of English"...is what I usually hear of...
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command: countable or uncountable? #8 (permalink) Mon Oct 22, 2007 8:57 am   command: countable or uncountable?
 

.
I think they're both OK, with the countable version much more prevalent. The uncountable, I think, appears more often in some collocations, like 'in command of' and 'have command'.
.
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command: countable or uncountable? #9 (permalink) Mon Oct 22, 2007 12:15 pm   command: countable or uncountable?
 

Thank you !

I have no more questions. The prosecution rests.
Lost_Soul
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