Common nouns and acronyms/proper nouns placement

[Evgen First]

Is there any strict rule for placing common nouns and acronyms/proper nouns together? For ex. in sentence "armed with antitank equipment and SAM-7 anti-aricraft missiles", does the "SAM-7" must go before "missiles" and the other order will be just plain wrong ( "...and anit-aircraft missiles SAM-7" )? Or, for ex. "Pentium microprocessor was developed in..". Can I say "microprocessor Pentium was developed"?

 

[emsr2d2]

Is there any strict rule for placing common nouns and acronyms/proper nouns together? For example, in the sentence fragment "armed with antitank equipment and SAM-7 anti-aircraft missiles", [STRIKE]does[/STRIKE] must the "SAM-7" [STRIKE]must[/STRIKE] go before "missiles"? [STRIKE]and[/STRIKE] Is the other order ( "...and anti-aircraft missiles SAM-7" ) [STRIKE]will be[/STRIKE] just plain wrong? [STRIKE]( "...and anit-aircraft missiles SAM-7" )?[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]Or, for ex.[/STRIKE] Another example is "The Pentium microprocessor was developed in..". Can I say "The microprocessor Pentium was developed ..."?

Please see my corrections to your post above. In the examples you gave, the original word order is correct. They are "SAM-7 missiles" and "a Pentium microprocessor".

 

[Evgen First]

In the examples you gave, the original word order is correct.

Thanks. But I am curious - is there any general rule?

 

[emsr2d2]

Well, so far I haven't been able to think of any combination of proper noun/acronym and common noun where the common noun comes first.

Apple laptop
Fiesta apples
Smith & Wesson revolver
AK-47 machine gun

Most of the proper noun + common noun combinations are of a brand name + item description.

 

[Tdol]

It's a missile. What type? It's anti anti-aircraft missile. Which make/model? It's a SAM-7 anti-aircraft missile.

 

[emsr2d2]

Tdol, would you not write "an ​SAM-7 ..."?

 

[Evgen First]

Thanks) I am translating a text from Spanish to English. And my native tongue is Russian. So in Spanish word order it will be "missile anit-aircraft SAM-7", and in Russian - "anti-aircraft missile SAM-7". I am a bit disoriented)

 

[bhaisahab]

Tdol, would you not write "an ​SAM-7 ..."?

I wouldn't.

 

[emsr2d2]

Interesting. I have always chosen the form of indefinite article based solely on how it would be read out loud. I wouldn't say "a ess-ay-emm seven" aloud. I would say "an ess-ay-emm seven" and therefore would write "an".

 

[bhaisahab]

I pronounce it as the name "Sam".

 

[emsr2d2]

Ah, well in that case, it would be "a". It didn't occur to me to read it as a word, rather than initials. Perhaps people who have heard of the anti-aircraft missile would know that's how it's said. Strangely enough, not my area of expertise!