Is there an epidemic of plural abstract nouns?

http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4376
links to http://moreintelligentlife.com/blog/absurd-persons-plural

Found this post on pluralization (or should I say pluralizations?) interesting on this language web site.

3 replies, 435 views

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3 replies	Author	Time	Post
Is there an epidemic of plural abstract nouns? (Original post)	valerief	Dec 2012	OP
I've noticed this as well.	Orrex	Dec 2012	#1
Willy gets blamed for everything! nt	valerief	Dec 2012	#2
I favor the use of more plural abstract nouns.	Chan790	Dec 2012	#3

Response to valerief (Original post)

Sat Dec 29, 2012, 08:22 PM

Orrex (36,489 posts)

1. I've noticed this as well.

I believe that it may have started with that hack who wrote that "all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death."

What was he thinking?

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Response to Orrex (Reply #1)

Sun Dec 30, 2012, 11:52 AM

valerief (35,681 posts)

2. Willy gets blamed for everything! nt

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Response to valerief (Original post)

Mon Dec 31, 2012, 02:42 PM

Chan790 (13,766 posts)

3. I favor the use of more plural abstract nouns.

I don't think they're useless at all but rather useful and in many contexts more-accurate than the grammatically-correct singular.

Second article I've read in the past day by some whiny stodgy literary old man for whom rules are tantamount over both comprehension and vernacular language. Fuck them all to kingdoms come!

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