Nineteen Attorney Generals
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By the way...
In American English, attorneys general is the correct plural form. The British prefer attorney-generals (the Brits have long hyphenated the phrase).
Generally, a compound noun made up of a noun and a postpositive adjective (one that follows its noun) is pluralized by adding -s to the noun, as with heirs apparent and causes of action. But we add -s at the end of closed compounds, as with all words ending in -ful {spoonfuls, handfuls}.
And how do you make the plural phrase attorneys general into a possessive? You don’t, preferably. You might try to make a case for 35 attorneys general’s briefs, but you’d induce more head-scratching than readerly agreement. To avoid any miscues, the better course is to rephrase with an of-genitive. So if you want to discuss the briefs of more than one attorney general, simply say the briefs of the attorneys general. Fortunately, most jurisdictions have only one attorney general at a time, so the plural-possessive form is not a problem you’re likely to encounter often.
The British have it easier: 35 attorney-generals’ briefs. Tallyho!
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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As always, this does not end well when the TDS sufferers see a Trump administration doing anything similar to this, to their side. The self-righteous children will throw their tantrums, and that time, it will be backed by the full force of popular culture. That's when shit will get real. And when absolutely nobody not in their tribe gives a flying fuck about their tantrums, what then? TDS turns people into infants. When you're dealing with adult infants who have levers of power, it becomes volatile. I understand that that's the allegation leveled against Trump, the infant stuff, but that's one guy, or a small group of people, working within a system of checks and balances. The other tribe is infantile en masse in response, which gets more volatile. IMO of course.
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By the way...
In American English, attorneys general is the correct plural form. The British prefer attorney-generals (the Brits have long hyphenated the phrase).
Generally, a compound noun made up of a noun and a postpositive adjective (one that follows its noun) is pluralized by adding -s to the noun, as with heirs apparent and causes of action. But we add -s at the end of closed compounds, as with all words ending in -ful {spoonfuls, handfuls}.
And how do you make the plural phrase attorneys general into a possessive? You don’t, preferably. You might try to make a case for 35 attorneys general’s briefs, but you’d induce more head-scratching than readerly agreement. To avoid any miscues, the better course is to rephrase with an of-genitive. So if you want to discuss the briefs of more than one attorney general, simply say the briefs of the attorneys general. Fortunately, most jurisdictions have only one attorney general at a time, so the plural-possessive form is not a problem you’re likely to encounter often.
The British have it easier: 35 attorney-generals’ briefs. Tallyho!
@George-K said in Nineteen Attorney Generals:
By the way...
In American English, attorneys general is the correct plural form. The British prefer attorney-generals (the Brits have long hyphenated the phrase).
I’ll remember this at lunch tomorrow and order two Whoopers Junior.
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@George-K said in Nineteen Attorney Generals:
By the way...
In American English, attorneys general is the correct plural form. The British prefer attorney-generals (the Brits have long hyphenated the phrase).
I’ll remember this at lunch tomorrow and order two Whoopers Junior.
