Talk:Noun/Archive 1: Difference between revisions

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: I agree.  This is terribly written.  After a correct definition, we might see things like grammatical number, grammatical case, etc., then things on the syntactic roles of nouns within a sentence.  The last time I read anything similar to a statement that a tree is a noun was when humor columnist Dave Barry ran his annual holier-than-thou condescending column explaining grammar.  Among other things, after mentioning the idea that verbs can have objects, he explained that an object is a noun that weighs at least two pounds. [[User:Michael Hardy|Michael Hardy]] 17:16, 17 April 2007 (CDT)
: I agree.  This is terribly written.  After a correct definition, we might see things like grammatical number, grammatical case, etc., then things on the syntactic roles of nouns within a sentence.  The last time I read anything similar to a statement that a tree is a noun was when humor columnist Dave Barry ran his annual holier-than-thou condescending column explaining grammar.  Among other things, after mentioning the idea that verbs can have objects, he explained that an object is a noun that weighs at least two pounds. [[User:Michael Hardy|Michael Hardy]] 17:16, 17 April 2007 (CDT)
::Agreed.  And indeed, even though "tree" (the word, thus in quotes) can function as a noun, that does not necessarily mean it always ''is'' a noun.  What about "fish" or "photograph"?  We really need more work here from linguists; I have had a try at fixing [[Pronoun]] and [[English grammar]], but there's too much work for just one person! [[User:Russell Potter|Russell Potter]] 11:23, 18 April 2007 (CDT)

Revision as of 11:23, 18 April 2007

I've got nothing against simple explanations of simple things. However, this

trees, cars, houses, people, etc. These are all nouns.

is false. A tree is not a word and hence not a noun. --Larry Sanger 13:41, 17 April 2007 (CDT)

I agree. This is terribly written. After a correct definition, we might see things like grammatical number, grammatical case, etc., then things on the syntactic roles of nouns within a sentence. The last time I read anything similar to a statement that a tree is a noun was when humor columnist Dave Barry ran his annual holier-than-thou condescending column explaining grammar. Among other things, after mentioning the idea that verbs can have objects, he explained that an object is a noun that weighs at least two pounds. Michael Hardy 17:16, 17 April 2007 (CDT)
Agreed. And indeed, even though "tree" (the word, thus in quotes) can function as a noun, that does not necessarily mean it always is a noun. What about "fish" or "photograph"? We really need more work here from linguists; I have had a try at fixing Pronoun and English grammar, but there's too much work for just one person! Russell Potter 11:23, 18 April 2007 (CDT)