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Grammar question - not finding answers to this

 
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nickelgoat



Joined: 26 Jan 2006
Posts: 207
Location: Where in the world is nickelgoat?

PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:07 pm    Post subject: Grammar question - not finding answers to this Reply with quote

.....

Last edited by nickelgoat on Wed Feb 13, 2019 6:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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"..
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Geronimo



Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 498

PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe this worksheet will solve the problem..
http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/jun/level-b/number-modifiers-using-numbers-as-adjectives/
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Geronimo



Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 498

PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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
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Grendal



Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 861
Location: Lurking in the depths of the Faisaliah Tower underground parking.

PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2013 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

wow
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2013 12:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

English - gotta love it Very Happy

I learned the hard way - never say never and always avoid saying always where this crazy language is concerned.

Regards,
John
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trapezius



Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction

PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2013 3:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

john, but you just said both! Confused
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2013 12:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear trap,

Darn - I forgot that I should NEVER generalize because generalizations are ALWAYS wrong. Very Happy

Regards,
John
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trapezius



Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction

PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2013 2:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wink
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2013 4:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

To paraphrase one of my students, "After I am reading this, my head is aching me !"
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Geronimo



Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 498

PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2013 7:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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
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