Singular and plural nouns

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Andy Yang

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I've got a sentence:
The war seriously affected petrol prices.

My question is why not "petrol price"?
My reasoning is that the petrol price used here is a noun phrase.

My second question is about comparison of similar sentences:

-She has certainly made him angry.
She certainly has made him angry.

- I am really sorry.
I really am sorry.

-Polite people always say 'thank-you'.
I always do say 'thank-you'.

My third question is from a sentence as well:
I don't trust politicians. I never have, and I never will.
Here why is I never "have"? What about I never "do"?

Last question is a US diplomat and an MP.
Why is not an US diplomat? a MP?
 

emsr2d2

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Last question is a US diplomat and an MP.
Why is not an US diplomat? a MP?

It gets very confusing if you ask three totally unrelated questions in one thread. I will answer question 3. Please post questions 1 and 2 in new (separate) threads.

It is not "an" U.S. diplomat because we don't use "an" simply because the next letter is a vowel. It is the sound of the word/letter which is important. When we say "U.S", it sounds like "You Ess". The sound "y" at the beginning of "you" is not a vowel sound so it is preceded by "a".
 
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