This article describes semantical differences between une manière de N1 (lit. 'a manner of N1', that is to say " a kind of N1 ", for example une manière de construction, " a king of building ") and un mode de N1 (lit. 'a mode of N1', that is " a way of N1 " with an activity N1, for example un mode de construction," a way of building ") by examining nouns appearing in each case. The specific and general properties of the relevant nouns are identified through corpus methodology. It shows that on the one hand, un mode de N1 allows nouns denoting processes rather than entities. Such sequences indicate a specific superodination relation to nominalised process, and is similar to troponimy in the verbal field. On the other hand, une manière de N1 corresponds to a hedge, such sequences being similar to the hedge vrai(e) (" real "), in particuliar by selecting typical properties.
