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The difference is that these are phrases with adjectives, not nouns being used adjectivally.
by ksenzee 8y ago
The difference is that these are phrases with adjectives, not nouns being used adjectivally.
- a1369209993 8y ago"Attorney generals" is a noun phrase (admittedly of questionable adjectivity). "Attorneys general" is a blind idiot translation of a phrase in a language with different grammatical rules (Latin, IIRC).
- gowld 8y ago"Attorney" is a noun. "General" as used here is an adjective. It's unusual in that the adjective follows the noun without a hyphen, but it's common enough, and it's where prepositional phrases are seen, like "Big man on campus" and "powers that be". Did ancient Romans have attorneys general?