Meaning & use
personal attention
Last updated
Meaning
phraseuncountable
Special care and notice given to one person, rather than to a group.
Grammar: Uncountable; used with verbs like 'give', 'receive', or 'need'.
Patterns
- give someone personal attention
- receive personal attention
- need personal attention
In this small class, each student receives personal attention from the teacher.
The hotel prides itself on giving guests personal attention.
She felt she needed more personal attention from her doctor.
Common combinations
- give personal attention
- The manager gave personal attention to every complaint.
- receive personal attention
- Patients receive personal attention from the nursing staff.
- undivided personal attention
- The child thrived with undivided personal attention.
Synonyms and how they differ
- individual attention
- Very similar, but 'individual' emphasizes one person as separate from others; 'personal' emphasizes the personal relationship.
Commonly confused: personal attention or personal appearance?
personal attention vs personal appearance
'Personal attention' is about care; 'personal appearance' is about how someone looks.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'personal attention' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Personal attention' is uncountable, so it takes no article 'a' and no plural 'attentions'. Option 1 is correct.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “personal attention”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.