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How do you know when to use singular or plural nouns if they're used as adjectives?

i.e.

32-bit computer vs 32-bits computer?

teacher union vs teachers union?

wedding planner vs weddings planner?

sport medicine vs sports medicine?

student council vs students council?

Which one is correct?

NoName
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1 Answers1

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You are thinking of noun adjuncts, or attributive nouns.

Both Wikipedia and someone from Pearson Education state that traditionally, all attributive nouns are singular. However, the number of plural attributive nouns have increased over the years in a rather arbitrary manner. This means that there is no longer a set rule to determine whether the attributive is singular or plural.

Despite this, there is a rough guide that you can use.

The attributive noun tends to be plural in the following situations:

1: The singular form might lead to ambiguity

an arts degree (a degree in the humanities) as opposed to an art degree (a degree in fine art)

[I believe that this situation is what is referred to on wikipedia as "lexical restrictions", providing the example of "arm race" vs "arms race"]

2. There is no singular form of a noun (in pluralia tantum)

a customs officer

3. There is a need to denote variety

a soft drinks manufacturer [but] a car manufacturer

4. A topical issue comes forth, often in newspaper stories...

the tapes issue

<p>the <em>tapes compromise</em></p>

<p>the <em>Watergate tapes affair</em></p>

<p>the <em>White House tapes mystery</em></p>

<p>and other examples, including <em>jobs cut</em>.</p>

[I am not entirely sure what the point of this fourth category is]

[Source: Pearson Education , directly quoted apart from what is enclosed inside square brackets]

To this list I add my own:

5. [The attributive noun is plural if] it comes from the possessive form of the word

teachers union

<p><em>ladies man</em></p>

However, this is more of an explanation rather than a rule you can use. There are too many exceptions, and you are unlikely to know the origins of the word. It doesn't make sense that it is teachers union but not students council.

Note that we often "choose by ear and it doesn’t matter (employee lounge, employees lounge)" (Chicago Manual of Style).

I would argue that it would be easier to just look it up every time and memorise words instead of trying to find a rule or categorise them. Even as a native speaker, I was not entirely sure whether it was "sport medicine" or "sports medicine" before looking it up. If you find yourself completely lost and without internet, go with the singular form because it is the traditional form and more common.

mike
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  • Well, at least one union of teachers is actually genitive: http://www.wtulocal6.org/, hence the "s." – Azor Ahai -him- Jul 06 '17 at 17:37
  • Very good, but "teachers union"? Surely it should be "teachers' union" with plural obviously "teachers' unions" (whatever the illiterate teachers may think). – David Jul 06 '17 at 19:45
  • @david I thought I read somewhere that you don't need the apostrophe.... I'll try to find the source again when I have time later today – mike Jul 06 '17 at 21:50
  • @Azor-Ahai see above. I'm not sure what you mean by "actually genitive" — isn't that what I said? – mike Jul 06 '17 at 21:53
  • @mik_blom Oh, I see what you meant. I was a little confused (the reason is confusing) – Azor Ahai -him- Jul 06 '17 at 22:14
  • @David does it make sense to say "a union for teachers"? I find that it is written both with the apostrophe and without. Examples without: https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/2010/1/cj30n1-8.pdf, Chicago Teachers Union – mike Jul 08 '17 at 00:00
  • Ok. I accept that there is an ungrammatical tendency to drop apostrophes in titles, especially in the US. The main British teachers’ unions is “The National Union OF Teachers”. This may sound more of a mouthful, but it is abbreviated as NUT, which is widely recognized. (Similarly NUM — National Union of Mineworkers.) – David Jul 08 '17 at 08:44
  • @David I think Americans drop the apostrophe in non proper nouns too (see the link I sent before). Also, it's not incorrect to drop the apostrophe in titles - in fact, the Chicago Manual of Style suggests doing just that – mike Jul 08 '17 at 09:30
  • @David No; it would be as wrong (at the moment) for me to say 'There is an ungrammatical tendency to cling on to apostrophes traditionally used in associative rather than true possessive situations like writers' guild and working men's club.' The apostrophe is usually dropped in the latter. Lloyds and Lloyd's have used different styles for many years. This answer spells out the true situation: grammar etc is constantly if slowly evolving. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 30 '17 at 10:27
  • Surely, that should be "the number of plural attributive nouns has increased over the years"? – PM 2Ring Jan 20 '24 at 02:48
  • Note that mens (in working mens clubs) and childrens (as in childrens clothing department) are quite commonly used nowadays, to the chagrin of some traditionalists (who perhaps don't know that there was a time (pre-C16) the apostrophe hadn't been introduced). – Edwin Ashworth Feb 04 '24 at 19:43