He regarded them as a fool/fools(?)

Question

Which is the correct option:He regarded them as a fool OR as fools.

Arvsworld · Accepted Answer

He regarded them as fools.

them (plural)
fools (plural)

Palinkasocsi · Answer

Does it mean that 'He regarded them as a fool' is absolutely wrong?

BarbaraPA · Answer

I don't like to use phrases like "asbsolutely wrong," but if you are talking about more than one person (them) then you need to use the plural form of the noun (fools).

If I were your editor, I would certainly change it.

Palinkasocsi · Answer

What would you use (second conditional, sorry) instead of  "absolutely wrong" for the meaning I used above?

BarbaraPA · Answer

I would say "It would be edited." <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Palinkasocsi · Answer

You got me wrong. What did you mean when you said: "I don't like to use phrases like "asbsolutely wrong"? -- Is there anything the matter with this expression? What would you say instead?

Sarangadhar · Answer

Palinkasocsi
Which is the correct option:

He regarded them as a fool OR as fools.

out of context: I would say 'as' is redundant here.

He regarded them a fool.

CalifJim · Answer

You got me wrong. What did you mean when you said: "I don't like to use phrases like "asbsolutely wrong"? -- Is there anything the matter with this expression? What would you say instead?

Dang! You two are just not communicating here!!!

GG is not objecting to the words or the expression "absolutely wrong" when she says she would not use it. There is nothing wrong with the expression "absolutely wrong"! There is no other expression that she would prefer to use instead of "absolutely wrong". It's perfect as it stands.

She's objecting to what the words "absolutely wrong" actually mean! She's is saying that it is very extreme and inflexible to say of an example that it is absolutely wrong. There may, in fact, be some part of it that is not wrong, so then it wouldn't be absolutely wrong. So she does not want to commit herself to saying that your sentence was absolutely wrong. There may be some people who think it's right in some circumstances or that it is only partly wrong.

So when she says she doesn't like to use expressions like "absolutely wrong", she's saying that she doesn't want to say that your example is absolutely wrong. She's saying that it's not her style to be so dogmatic and inflexible. Maybe she thinks it's only a little wrong.

CJ

BarbaraPA · Answer

CalifJimShe's is saying that it is very extreme and inflexible to say of an example that it is absolutely wrong...She's saying that it's not her style to be so dogmatic and inflexible.
CJ

In general, I object to the idea of saying, "It shall be thus. This is the only way it shall be. Never shall it be otherwise. Anyone who claims it can be anything other than this is absolutly wrong." Although I'm more on the prescriptivist than descriptivist end of the spectrum (because I write things that have to comply with a set style and a certain standard), I think people who look at things only from the perspective of prescriptivism miss that language changes.

I've also found you can often create a very far-fetched example that makes thing that are "wrong" be correct in that bizarre, extreme, fanciful, or unlikely situation. And I've found that pretty much every rule that says "never do this!" has an exception.

However, what I would change in your sentence, 99.99% of the time (allowing for the bizarre, extreme, fanciful or unlikely situation as the other .01%) is what I said before:

...if you are talking about more than one person (them) then you need to use the plural form of the noun (fools).

He regarded them as a fool/fools(?)

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