Do you really need that suffix?

Question

Does English really need the s-suffix when it already has many, few and numbers?e.g.many Fords - many Fordfew balls - few ballten websites - ten website

MrPedantic · Accepted Answer

I'm afraid your implicit argument is ball, Anon.

MrP

Cool Breeze · Answer

There may be situations in which the plural s is needed but English would probably manage without it quite well. In Swedish, another Germanic language, nouns have five or six declensions. In one of them nouns have the same indefinite singular and plural forms. A suffix is often added to a noun for the singular definite form and no article is used. An example: ett hus = a house; huset = the house.

In one of these declensions the indefinite singular and plural forms are the same:
I have a house = Jag har ett hus
I have five houses = Jag har fem hus

The meaning (singular or plural) is clear even if the numeral fem (five) is omitted because the article ett is needed before the singular form but just like English, the indefinite article isn't used before plural nouns.

If an adjectival attribut is added, it must be inflected in the plural:
I have a beautiful house = Jag har ett vackert hus
I have five beautiful houses = Jag har fem vackra hus.

CB

Anonymous · Answer

Fascinating stuff. Thanks, Cool Breeze.

Do you really need that suffix?

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