Monday, May 17, 2004

Courts Martial: American English The use of plurals. [posted by ZelderBar] With the prison abuse scandle in the news and the related courts martial on the way, I've been noticing the term "courts martial" as a plural, and generally how freakin' weird it sounds to those of us accustomed to everyday-American English. Of course, "courts martial" is proper usage with a modifier following the noun. Naturally, the noun would be plural, since it's the noun that is in plurality. Duh! Here are a few examples with links where this usage has been employed: Courts Martial Secretaries of State Attorneys General Whoppers Junior (ok, I really haven't found anyone out there using this one, but in honor of Justin B, I decided to include it. Anyway, the fact that these sound strange can probably be attributed to our uncultured-American roots. 11:39:00 PM  permanent link  Reader Comments []  Google It! Troy wins battle at US box office Troy is the greatest. [posted by Troy] Finally, someone notices how great I am! I have won at the US box office. Yes, I am a winner. 10:47:54 PM  permanent link  Reader Comments []  Google It!

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