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Robert2 Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Past participles used as nouns

0Could anyone make enlightening comments on the use of past participles as nouns:02br
02br
02br
00"We drive those undecideds into the arms of the enemy."02br
02br
00Thank you for any answer.02br
02br
00Robert02br
00 0-
  

Top answer

"02font 02br 02br 01font 00Well, it's certainly acceptable and quite common. 00 eg undecided (people)02font 02br 02br 01font 00You can also do this with present participles00 eg George Bush's 'Coalition of the Willing' 00and with various other adjectives00 02font 02br 02br 01font 00eg 00Communists used to be referred to as00 'the reds'. 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive02br 0-

— Clive

  • "02font 02br 02br 01font 00Well, it's certainly acceptable and quite common.
  • 00 eg undecided (people)02font 02br 02br 01font 00You can also do this with present participles00 eg George Bush's 'Coalition of the Willing' 00and with various other adjectives00 02font 02br 02br 01font 00eg 00Communists used to be referred to as00 'the reds'.
  • 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive02br 0-
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16 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00Could anyone make enlightening comments on the use of past participles as nouns:02font02br
02br
02br
01font00"We drive those undecideds into the arms of the enemy."02font02br
02br
01font00Well, it's certainl
0
0
0 enlightening comments02br
02br
00 I don't know how enlightening this is, but past participles used as nouns are very rare in everyday conversation. They may be more common in journalism and even more so in poetry, but even there they are hardly common.02br
02br
00 CJ0-
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0 02br
02br
00Hi,02br
02br
00I am afraid I phrased my question wrongly.02br
02br
00I meant to ask about the use of a plural for the past participle.02br
02br
00A search through the OED gives only 2 results for words ending in "eds", i.e. "undecideds" and "intendeds", this latter example being quite old (Dickens, 1838
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00I am afraid I phrased my question wrongly.02font02br
02br
01font00I meant to ask about the use of a plural for the past participle.02font02br
02br
01font00A search through the OED gives only 2 results for words endin
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Clive12cite10Hi,12br
12br
10You searched through the entire OED? Wow!12br
12br
10How about 'beloved'? You are my11b10 beloved12b10. In my whole life, I have only had 11b10two beloveds12b10.12br
12br
12blockquote

0
0
0Hi,02br
02br
01font00nonscheds02font00 I don't know what this means02br
02br
01font02font02br
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01font00half-breds02font00 I'd say 'half-bre01b01font00e02font02b0
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0A similar question : Is "you can't leave the restaurant unpaid" equally understood "you can't leave the store until you pay"(I'm a customer) or "you can't leave the restaurant until I am paid " (I'm the chef)?02br
02br
00Also, the past participle "unpaid" seems functioning as a subordinate clause rather than a noun here02br
02br
00thank you0-
0
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Clive12cite11font10nonscheds12font10 I don't know what this means12br
12br
11font12font12br
12br
11font10half-breds12font10 I'd say 'half-bre11b11font
0
0
1font00Hi,02font02br
02br
01font00nonsched/nonscheds or non-sched/non-scheds is used as a short form of non-scheduled/non-scheduleds.02font02br
02br
00OK, but what is 01b00a non-scheduled02b00?02br
02br
00Clive0-
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Clive12cite11font10nonsched/nonscheds or non-sched/non-scheds is used as a short form of non-scheduled/non-scheduleds.12font12br
12br
10OK, but what is 11b10a non-scheduled12b10?12br
12br
10Hi,12br
12br
12br
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