View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
nickelgoat
Joined: 26 Jan 2006 Posts: 207 Location: Where in the world is nickelgoat?
|
Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:07 pm Post subject: Grammar question - not finding answers to this |
|
|
.....
Last edited by nickelgoat on Wed Feb 13, 2019 6:18 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
scot47

Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343
|
Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
A noun used as an adjective is almost always in the singular, eg "car showroom" not "cars showroom" ! A "language school" not a "languages school".. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Geronimo
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 498
|
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Geronimo
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 498
|
Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
And, if you want to confuse your students further...
http://david-crystal.blogspot.ae/2010/05/on-plural-adjectives.html
"It's true that attributive nouns are normally neutral with respect to number; so we say Toothpaste protects against tooth decay, even though we're talking about all our teeth, I sat in an armchair, even though the chair has two arms, and a five-pound note, a three-year-old child, and so on, even though in postmodifying position the expressions would be plural - a child of three years, a note worth five pounds. But there are several kinds of exception, which are very common in British English and unusual in American English.
When people talk about a concept that is an institution or organization, the tendency is to keep the plural form, and this is especially so when there's a semantic contrast with the singular form:
an examinations committee
a prints and drawings exhibition
the heavy chemicals industry
the Obscene Publications Act
an arts degree [vs an art degree]
a careers administrator [someone who looks after careers in an institution] vs a career administrator [someone who has gone in for administration as a career]
The plural is also likely when there's a contrast between generic ('kinds of') and specific meanings. This is where drinks comes in, for a drinks cabinet means 'a cabinet in which various kinds of drink are to be found'. Other examples are entertainments listing and savings bank. And nouns which don't have a singular (in a particular sense) keep their ending:
clothes basket
arms race
Commons decision
honours degree
mains adaptor
contents list
Stylistic factors are also involved. Newspaper headlines in particular like to use adjectives attributively, as it saves space. So we encounter such headlines as:
Strikes issue back on the table
Recordings compromise reached
There's quite a bit of individual variation, though:
grassroot(s) level
saving(s) account
system(s) analyst
wage(s) freeze
communication(s) network
archive(s) administrator
And, actually, drinks cabinet is a further example, with some firms advertising drink cabinets these days (as a Google search quickly shows). It's an interesting area of language change, especially with American English usage influencing British English."
Crystal clear?
Geronimo |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Grendal

Joined: 13 Aug 2009 Posts: 861 Location: Lurking in the depths of the Faisaliah Tower underground parking.
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2013 10:24 am Post subject: |
|
|
wow |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
johnslat

Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2013 12:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
English - gotta love it
I learned the hard way - never say never and always avoid saying always where this crazy language is concerned.
Regards,
John |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
trapezius

Joined: 13 Aug 2006 Posts: 1670 Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction
|
Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 3:44 am Post subject: |
|
|
john, but you just said both!  |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
johnslat

Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
|
Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 12:13 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Dear trap,
Darn - I forgot that I should NEVER generalize because generalizations are ALWAYS wrong.
Regards,
John |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
trapezius

Joined: 13 Aug 2006 Posts: 1670 Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction
|
Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 2:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
 |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
scot47

Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343
|
Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 4:34 pm Post subject: |
|
|
To paraphrase one of my students, "After I am reading this, my head is aching me !" |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Geronimo
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 498
|
Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 7:20 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Why do English speakers 'disfavor compounds containing regular plurals compared to irregular ones'?
Is this disfavoring innate?
Is it phonological?
Is it rule-based and morphological?
Or is it purely random?
Here is an anthropological take - presented by Iris Berent and Stephen Pinker-
on aspects of plurality within the English language's compound nouns...
http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/articles/papers/BerentPinker-ML.pdf
Geronimo |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|