XPost: alt.usage.english, alt.english.usage

On 06/12/2024 at 19:23, HenHanna wrote:

Why is it "attorneys general" and not "attorney generals"?

--------- WHats the nae for this Plural formation?

my AI said ........ but that's apparently Wrong.

"general", here, is an adjective
"attorney" is the noun - hence the plural s


--
Chris Elvidge, England
I WILL NOT SELL LAND IN FLORIDA

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XPost: alt.usage.english, alt.english.usage

On 06/12/2024 at 21:14, HenHanna wrote:

On Fri, 6 Dec 2024 19:37:01 +0000, Chris Elvidge wrote:

On 06/12/2024 at 19:23, HenHanna wrote:

Why is it "attorneys general" and not "attorney generals"?

--------- WHats the nae for this Plural formation?

my AI said ........ but that's apparently Wrong.

"general", here, is an adjective
"attorney" is the noun - hence the plural s

--
Chris Elvidge, England
I WILL NOT SELL LAND IN FLORIDA --- What land WILL you sell?

------------ President Elect, Mayor pro tem

(in English) The plural of "heir apparent" is "heirs apparent."

Le pluriel de "héritier apparent" en français est "héritiers apparents".

Pour le féminin, on utilise "héritière apparente" au singulier et "héritières apparentes" au pluriel.

_________________________

Le pluriel de "attorney general" en français est "procureurs généraux". En effet, le terme "attorney general" se traduit généralement par "procureur général" en français, et son pluriel suit la règle de formation des pluriels en français, où "procureur" devient "procureurs"
et "général" devient "généraux".

Il est important de noter que le terme "attorney general" est
un anglicisme qui peut être utilisé dans certains contextes, mais en français, on utilise principalement "procureur général" pour désigner cette fonction.

English does not, generally, pluralise or gender adjectives.
As you've realised, French does. Probably also Spanish, Italian, German etc.


--
Chris Elvidge, England
I WON'T NOT USE NO DOUBLE NEGATIVES

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XPost: alt.usage.english, alt.english.usage

On 2024-12-07, Chris Elvidge <chris@internal.net> wrote:

Why is it "attorneys general" and not "attorney generals"?

English does not, generally, pluralise or gender adjectives.
As you've realised, French does. Probably also Spanish, Italian, German etc.

Yep.
In the rare cases in German where an adjective follows a noun, the
adjective is not declined, though; e.g. "Forelle blau" as often
seen on restaurant menus.

--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de

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XPost: alt.usage.english, alt.english.usage

Op 7/12/2024 om 11:18 schreef Christian Weisgerber:

On 2024-12-07, Chris Elvidge <chris@internal.net> wrote:

Why is it "attorneys general" and not "attorney generals"?

English does not, generally, pluralise or gender adjectives.
As you've realised, French does. Probably also Spanish, Italian, German etc.

Yep.
In the rare cases in German where an adjective follows a noun, the
adjective is not declined, though; e.g. "Forelle blau" as often
seen on restaurant menus.

Same in Dutch.
De Staten-Generaal, but
De Generale Repetitie.
Rozen zo blauw.
Zo'n* blauwe rozen.

*Flemish. Also seen in German: "So ein" (spoken), for "solche" (subtitles). "Hollands": zulke blauwe rozen.

--
guido wugi

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XPost: alt.usage.english, alt.english.usage

On 07/12/24 22:49, Chris Elvidge wrote:

On 06/12/2024 at 21:14, HenHanna wrote:

English does not, generally, pluralise or gender adjectives. As
you've realised, French does. Probably also Spanish, Italian, German
etc.

It's unlikely, though, that HenHanna will accept this information from
you, because you're not an AI.

Still, it was worth mentioning, for those who didn't know.

--
Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

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On 08/12/24 01:18, Christian Weisgerber wrote:

On 2024-12-07, Chris Elvidge <chris@internal.net> wrote:

Why is it "attorneys general" and not "attorney generals"?

English does not, generally, pluralise or gender adjectives. As
you've realised, French does. Probably also Spanish, Italian,
German etc.

Yep. In the rare cases in German where an adjective follows a noun,
the adjective is not declined, though; e.g. "Forelle blau" as often
seen on restaurant menus.

Interesting. French has some situations where an adjective is declined
when the noun came earlier in the sentence, but not declined if the noun
came later. (This is most obvious when the adjective is a past
participle.) That's the opposite of the German rule you mention.

--
Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

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XPost: alt.usage.english, alt.english.usage

Op 7/12/2024 om 18:56 schreef Peter Moylan:

On 08/12/24 01:18, Christian Weisgerber wrote:

On 2024-12-07, Chris Elvidge <chris@internal.net> wrote:

Why is it "attorneys general" and not "attorney generals"?

English does not, generally, pluralise or gender adjectives. As
you've realised, French does. Probably also Spanish, Italian,
German etc.

Yep. In the rare cases in German where an adjective follows a noun,
the adjective is not declined, though; e.g. "Forelle blau" as often
seen on restaurant menus.

Interesting. French has some situations where an adjective is declined
when the noun came earlier in the sentence, but not declined if the noun
came later. (This is most obvious when the adjective is a past
participle.) That's the opposite of the German rule you mention.

I know of no such cases.
De belles femmes enceintes.
Les Etats Généraux (contrary to Dutch Staten-Generaal).
De grands hommes forts.
Elle est forte, cette femme.
Ils sont fous, les Romains.

Perhaps you mean sth like
C'est beau, une femme.
C'est beau, les femmes.
But "beau" refers techniquely to "ce", not to "femme(s)".

Past participles:
J'ai vu la femme.
Les femmes que j'ai vues.
But "vu(es)" is not an adjective here of "femme(s)", it's a verbal part.

--
guido wugi

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