3 ms·

The Whopper Jr. would like to have a word with you. I did have multiple iPods because the iPod is the name of the device and the "Nano" piece is a descriptive a

The Whopper Jr. would like to have a word with you. I did have multiple iPods because the iPod is the name of the device and the "Nano" piece is a descriptive adjective of which iPod it is.

freehunter 9y ago
If you had multiple iPods including the Nano, you would say "multiple iPods including the Nano". iPod is the brand name, Nano is the model. You can have multiple iPods and multiple iPod Nanos but multiple iPods Nano is, at best, heavily archaic use of the language. I've owned two Corolla cars in my life. It doesn't make sense for me to say "I've owned two Toyotas Corolla", does it? If I cloned this site, would I say "there are two Hackers News"?
- dkonofalski 9y ago
  No... Apple is the brand name, iPod is the product, and Nano is the descriptor for which model of iPod. As mentioned in my last reply, it's not 2 Whopper Jr.'s, it's 2 Whoppers Jr. Since Nano is an adjective, you pluralize the noun which, in this case, is iPod.
  - freehunter 9y ago
    So I should be saying "Macbooks Pro", "Surfaces RT", or "iPads Pro". If I have a Toyota Corolla S and then bought another, it should be "I have two Toyota Corollas S". Would I also have multiple "Telsa Models S"? Or you can end the ridiculous destruction of the English language and realize that "Nano" isn't really an adjective in this case, but rather "iPod Nano" is the entire noun and is pluralized as such. "Red iPods" has a noun and an adjective and the noun is pluralized. If you dropped the word "iPod" from the statement you'd still have a valid sentence "I have two Nano..." what? "Two Nanos", or "Two Nano", since Nano is an adjective and can't be pluralized? You asked "is that really how we have to say it?" and the answer is no. That is decidedly not how you have to say it. It may be how you choose to say it, but you don't have to, and most people would find it very odd phrasing indeed. If you ask Apple, brand names cannot be pluralized, so their recommendation is "iPod Nano mobile digital devices": https://www.apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/trademark/appletmlist.html https://www.apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/trademark/... I do want to point out that no matter what Burger King says, The Onion has an article specifically mocking that line of thinking: http://www.theonion.com/article/william-safire-orders-two-whoppers-junior-3351 http://www.theonion.com/article/william-safire-orders-two-wh...
    - dkonofalski 9y ago
      Every single one of your examples in the first statement is grammatically correct. You can call it ridiculous, if you want, but it doesn't change the fact that it's grammatically correct to phrase it with the noun being pluralized. In your other example, it doesn't apply because "Red" comes before the noun and a "Nano" isn't a thing so it's not a noun either. If you want to say "I have two Nanos", then you're using a colloquial description that turns "Nano" into a noun. Mocking rules of grammar doesn't make them incorrect. It is a weird rule, but it is the proper way to write and speak the language.

The Whopper Jr. would like to have a word with you. I did have multiple iPods because the iPod is the name of the device and the "Nano" piece is a descriptive adjective of which iPod it is.

freehunter 9y ago

If you had multiple iPods including the Nano, you would say "multiple iPods including the Nano". iPod is the brand name, Nano is the model. You can have multiple iPods and multiple iPod Nanos but multiple iPods Nano is, at best, heavily archaic use of the language. I've owned two Corolla cars in my life. It doesn't make sense for me to say "I've owned two Toyotas Corolla", does it? If I cloned this site, would I say "there are two Hackers News"?

dkonofalski 9y ago
No... Apple is the brand name, iPod is the product, and Nano is the descriptor for which model of iPod. As mentioned in my last reply, it's not 2 Whopper Jr.'s, it's 2 Whoppers Jr. Since Nano is an adjective, you pluralize the noun which, in this case, is iPod.
- freehunter 9y ago
  So I should be saying "Macbooks Pro", "Surfaces RT", or "iPads Pro". If I have a Toyota Corolla S and then bought another, it should be "I have two Toyota Corollas S". Would I also have multiple "Telsa Models S"? Or you can end the ridiculous destruction of the English language and realize that "Nano" isn't really an adjective in this case, but rather "iPod Nano" is the entire noun and is pluralized as such. "Red iPods" has a noun and an adjective and the noun is pluralized. If you dropped the word "iPod" from the statement you'd still have a valid sentence "I have two Nano..." what? "Two Nanos", or "Two Nano", since Nano is an adjective and can't be pluralized? You asked "is that really how we have to say it?" and the answer is no. That is decidedly not how you have to say it. It may be how you choose to say it, but you don't have to, and most people would find it very odd phrasing indeed. If you ask Apple, brand names cannot be pluralized, so their recommendation is "iPod Nano mobile digital devices": https://www.apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/trademark/appletmlist.html https://www.apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/trademark/... I do want to point out that no matter what Burger King says, The Onion has an article specifically mocking that line of thinking: http://www.theonion.com/article/william-safire-orders-two-whoppers-junior-3351 http://www.theonion.com/article/william-safire-orders-two-wh...
  - dkonofalski 9y ago
    Every single one of your examples in the first statement is grammatically correct. You can call it ridiculous, if you want, but it doesn't change the fact that it's grammatically correct to phrase it with the noun being pluralized. In your other example, it doesn't apply because "Red" comes before the noun and a "Nano" isn't a thing so it's not a noun either. If you want to say "I have two Nanos", then you're using a colloquial description that turns "Nano" into a noun. Mocking rules of grammar doesn't make them incorrect. It is a weird rule, but it is the proper way to write and speak the language.