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marriage or marriages

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optilang

#525497 Tue, 10 Jun 08 06:34 PM

Yoong Liat
It appears on page 1 when it should appear on page 2 or 3.

I see it at the bottom of page 2.

optilang

Joined on Tue, May 13 2008

Poland

Senior Member (2,175)

OptiNative British English Speaker Wherever I may roam, I'm still a Londoner.

Marriage

New2grammar

#525498 Tue, 10 Jun 08 06:35 PM

HAHA... maybe your laptop is complaining about your heavy use... cut it some slack! Stick out tongue

Me too. At the time of your posting, there was no page 3 :)

New2grammar

Joined on Tue, Nov 21 2006

Veteran Member (7,670)

Who wants to go sailing around the world with me?

Marriage

Goodman

#525513 Tue, 10 Jun 08 07:29 PM

My interpretation is this.

In the questioned context, we are talking about a controversy which is "gay marriage", not a "gay marriage" or specific marriages. Therefore it is a collectively general usage. This is further backed by Google with a quotation search "ruling on gay marriage" vs "gay marriages".

As to "arranged marriage", both sentences should take the singular form in my opinion.

Goodman

Joined on Mon, Nov 7 2005

Calif. USA

Senior Member (3,192)

The name says it all!

Marriage

Huevos

#525533 Tue, 10 Jun 08 08:35 PM

New2grammar
gay marrriage (is abstract/uncountable)

I'm sure you mean generic, i.e. applicable to, or referring to all the members of a genus, class, group, or kind.

GG says it's just a matter of style, but, for me, "arranged marriage" and "arranged marriages" draw quite different pictures in my mind's eye.

Huevos

Joined on Tue, Mar 25 2008

Spain

Regular Member (546)

British Native

Grammar, Marriage

Avangi

#525597 Tue, 10 Jun 08 11:42 PM

Yoong Liat
New2grammar
It is possible to use the uncountable in the first sentence?
What do you mean by 'uncountable'?

Hi N2g, Your terminology threw me for a minute too.

uncountable / abstract / concept / generic These adjectives have different meanings/connotations in different contexts.

I believe Huevos is correct, that the one we need here is "generic." I've been looking for it myself. I use the word every day, but in other contexts.

It came up when I first joined the site. I think CJ brought it up. I've been trying to remember it for months. Thanks, Huevos.

N2g, try a search for "generic" on our site. There's some great stuff dating back a couple of years (before my time.)

I believe "concept" runs a close second in the uses we're talking about here. They might even be tied. "Abstract" and "uncountable" tend to send us in other directions on this site, although they certainly apply.

- A.

Avangi

Joined on Mon, Nov 19 2007

Senior Member (3,289)

". . . le plaisir delicieux et toujours nouveau d'une occupation inutile." - Henri de Regnier

Grammar, Marriage

New2grammar

#525613 Wed, 11 Jun 08 01:12 AM

Generic? That's an interesting choice of word for a word. I've always used it for drugs.

In the field of grammar, abstract nouns (such as beauty, democracy, love -some of these are countable as well) are categorized under 'uncountable' or 'mass noun'. Maybe I've forgotten what I've learned. I'll look for the thread. Thanks Avangi for clarifying this.

New2grammar

Grammar, Nouns, Marriage, Abstract nouns

Avangi

#525622 Wed, 11 Jun 08 01:52 AM

I agree they all apply. It's just a matter of habit - which I've learned from this site: when the subject of "countable / uncountable" comes up it's usually to solve a problem with the articles - i.e., that seems to be the focus. I sensed that your focus in this case was directed more toward semantics.

Avangi