0
Zuotengdazuo Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Is this sentence possible?

According to one grammar rule in Grammar: A Student's Guide, James R. Hurford

Some English common nouns, like sheep and deer, have an 'uninflected plural'; the singular and plural forms are identical.... What these cases seem to have in common is that the creatures concerned can be treated as a mass -- the individual animals aren't important. So these nouns are in a sense halfway between count nouns and mass nouns.... The names of a number of wild animals are like this for some speakers, but not for others, so a big-game hunter might say I shot three lion, or There are elephant in those trees.
These sentences seem correct:
1.The hunter shot three lion.
2.There are some elephant in the forest.
3.My favorite animals are elephant.

Is that the case? Thank you.
  

Top answer

Is that the case? As the author says, they're correct if you're a big-game hunter . Are you a big-game hunter?

— CalifJim

  • Is that the case?
  • As the author says, they're correct if you're a big-game hunter .
  • Are you a big-game hunter?
  • CJ
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

6 Answers
0
zuotengdazuoThese sentences seem correct:1.The hunter shot three lion.2.There are some elephant in the forest.3.My favorite animals are elephant.Is that the case?
As the author says, they're correct if you're a big-game hunter. Are you a big-game hunter?

CJ
0
0
Thank you. I knew that. But you don't have to be a big-game hunter to say the sentences in question.
Here is another exposition of this grammar rule:

Our old friend http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plural says: ‘As a general rule, game or other animals are often referred to in the singu
0
0
zuotengdazuoWhat do you think of the sentence? Do you think they are correct if they appear in a sporting context?
Yes, I do; however, I myself am never in that kind of sporting context, so I never use them.
0
0
Thank you. I see. I think if you were working on a novel in which you conceived a character who was a hunter, then you might write those sentences as the hunter's lines.
0
0
zuotengdazuo Thank you. I see. I think if you were working on a novel in which you conceived a character who was a hunter, then you might write those sentences as the hunter's lines.
Exactly!

CJ
0
0
zuotengdazuoSo so generally speaking, as long as it is in a sporting context, you can say the sentences in question.
In the context of blood sports. In general, using the singular is odd and jarring, so people would generally say lions and elephants.
0

Related Questions