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Pter Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Plural noun as adjective

I've learnt that when using a noun as adjective, the singular form is normally used unless when that noun is normally in plural form (e.g. sports), or when talking about people (parents association).

So, should it be "system analyst" or "systems analyst"? I got lots of hits in Google for both.

Thanks.
  

Top answer

Yes, you will normally use a singular noun adjectively but there are always exceptions as you've come to realize. He's a car mechanic. (He's a mechanic for cars; the plural is inappropriate here ) He's a system/systems analyst.

— Ivanhr

  • Yes, you will normally use a singular noun adjectively but there are always exceptions as you've come to realize.
  • He's a car mechanic.
  • (He's a mechanic for cars; the plural is inappropriate here ) He's a system/systems analyst.
  • (in this case both can work) The plural is needed If you want to emphasize the fact that his job is to analyze multiple systems .
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2 Answers
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Yes, you will normally use a singular noun adjectively but there are always exceptions as you've come to realize.

He's a car mechanic. (He's a mechanic for cars; the plural is inappropriate here )

He's a system/systems analyst. (in this case both can work)

The plural is needed If you want to emphasize the fact that his job is to analyze multiple systems .
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Thanks for the reply. But I can't imagine any system analyst whose job is to analyse only one single system. I suppose there is no need to emphasize this and should therefore follow the practice of using singular noun. However, the fact is system/systems administrator, system/systems support engineer are all very common. I am wondering if this is an anomaly.
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