somethings

Question

Hi,Would you please tell me if "somethings" is grammatically correct or not? And if it is where would we use it?Thanks.

Cynthia3754 · Accepted Answer

No, it is not grammatically correct.

Some things are just meant to be.
Something's just got to give.
Something is really special about my new friend.

Party · Answer

Thank you, so would you please tell me what a native English speaker would think, if he or she sees that?
I Googled "somethings" and found some records that it is used with a number.
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22somethings%22

Like 20 somethings you should know, or forty-somethings
Even, spell-checker of the Google Chrome does not take it as a spelling error.

Thanks.

Cynthia3754 · Answer

Yes, sir. Native speakers at times pervert the use of a word, which is called slang. The word slang is a noun. They play with the word and twist it a little in order to get a point across, yet it isn't really grammatically correct. In the case of the 20-somethings, it is slang.

Party · Answer

Thanks, ma'am. Would you please tell me what the slang means?

Cynthia3754 · Answer

This was taken from the Concise Encyclopedia.

Nonstandard vocabulary of extreme informality, usually not limited to any region. It includes newly coined words, shortened forms, and standard words used playfully out of their usual context. Slang is drawn from the vocabularies of limited groups: cant, the words or expressions coined or adopted by an age, ethnic, occupational, or other group (e.g., college students, jazz musicians); jargon, the shoptalk or technical terminology specific to an occupation; and argot, the cant and jargon used as a secret language by thieves or other criminals. Occupying a middle ground between standard and informal words accepted by the general public and the special words or expressions of these subgroups, slang often serves as a testing ground for words in the latter category. Many prove either useful enough to become accepted as standard or informal words or too faddish for standard use. Blizzard and okay have become standard, while conbobberation (“disturbance”) and tomato (“girl”) have been discarded. Some words and expressions have a lasting place in slang; for instance, beat it (“go away”), first used in the 16th century, has neither become standard English nor vanished.

Party · Answer

Thanks again, very good explanation! Thanks. I would very appreciate it if you would tell me what it means when somebody uses "20-somethings". As far as I know, compound adjective with a dash never comes in a plural form. Like 20-year-old boy, in contrast with 20 years old boy. I wondered why something comes with an 's'.
Thanks again, very much.

Cynthia3754 · Answer

Party, when it comes to slang you can just make up all the rules, however let me help you to understand the meaning here just a little better. For example:

You decide to have a yard sale and decide that instead of labeling everything with prices you are just going to make it easier for your customers and for yourself by separating everything into categories according to their prices. You have different areas where your customers will be able to find items with a specific price. There are four different price categories. The prices of the items are $5.00, $10.00, $15.00 and $20.00. To make it easier for yourself, you decide to assign a slang name for the items. Instead of saying "the things for $5.00" (and so on), you say the 5-somethings, the 10-somethings, the 15-somethings, and finally the one you have been waiting for the 20-somethings.

I hope this helps you to understand how slang actually works. Let me know if you need further explanation, because I will be glad to help.

Party · Answer

Thank you very much. I got that, and I need that great explanation. Thank you.<img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/61.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/61.gif' alt='Emotion: heart'/>

Anonymous · Answer

20-somethings usually refers to people in their 20s.

That explanation up there was hilarious, though.

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