1.60 Nouns which are rarely used alone

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 their 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' in 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.