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Avid learner Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Singular vs plural abstract nouns

Hi,

Should I use singular or plural form for the abstract nouns in the following sentence?

"Humans’ compassion mirrors that of the Divine; their savagery mirrors that of the Fallen One."

Personally, I like the nouns in singular form better.

Thanks in advance, AL
  

Top answer

I would understand those as uncountable, not singular countable. The word "compassions" hardly exists. "savageries" can exist, referring to acts of savagery.

— GPY

  • I would understand those as uncountable, not singular countable.
  • The word "compassions" hardly exists.
  • "savageries" can exist, referring to acts of savagery.
  • It could work in your sentence, but to keep the structure parallel I would stick with what you've got.
  • I find the possessive awkward.
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2 Answers
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I would understand those as uncountable, not singular countable. The word "compassions" hardly exists. "savageries" can exist, referring to acts of savagery. It could work in your sentence, but to keep the structure parallel I would stick with what you've got.

I find the possessive awkward. I would try to avoid it. Possibly you could try "Human compassion ....; human savagery ...".
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GPYI find the possessive awkward
Thanks for explanation.

Instead of humans' compassion, I suppose I can use "the compassion of humans (mankind)"
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