Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
(OP)
Sometimes, I don't understand why some adjcetives are considered as nouns. For example, locals refer to people living locally, chemicals refer to different/several types of chemical substance....
In addition, I am also puzzled why some uncountable nouns become countable nouns, e.g. bearings, nosings or settings..
In addition, I am also puzzled why some uncountable nouns become countable nouns, e.g. bearings, nosings or settings..





RE: Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
In you "living locally" example, living is a verb, and locally is an adverb - it modifies the associated verb.
Most nouns gain the s when refering to more than one.
RE: Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
RE: Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
Thank for your reply. Since I'm not a native speaker of English, I find it is difficult to understand why adjectives can become nouns. Is it new English??
RE: Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
Do you have a blog? (Noun)
Do you blog? (Verb)
I suspect, although I can't refer you to specific sources, that at one time, local was only an adjective, but through colloguial use over time, it became apparent that, in context, you didn't need both the adjective and the noun. Due to perhaps laziness, the extra and un-necessary noun was dropped, and the adjective became the noun as it now functioned as the noun. That usage became widespread, achieved a consensus as being valid, and thus became part of living English.
Good Luck
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RE: Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
To use your example "He is a local (person)"
I think "chemical" however, is a noun in its own right, such as "a corrosive chemical"
Jeff
RE: Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
You mean locals refer to the local people????
Steve
RE: Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
And yes, local can refer to the people... As in, "Oh, he's a local." or "While driving through Little Rock, Arkansas, we ran into a few locals at the local watering hole."
RE: Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
rmw
RE: Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
Hg
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RE: Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
Colloquial English usage is sometimes difficult to understand. Frequently, phrases are shortened for ease and convenience, and the parts of speech suffer as a consequence. In your example, …”locals refers to people living locally”… , is colloquial usage in which the word residents is implied. It would be more correct to say “…local residents refers to people living locally …” Another example, trains that make local stops are also called locals simply because it is easier to say - . So, if you are standing at the train station and someone asks you if “…the local stops here?…” is he asking whether the person who lives locally stop here? No. In colloquial phrases, the context should make the meaning clear otherwise, the implied words should be explicitly stated.
In your second example, chemicals is not an adjective. It is a noun. A noun is the name of an object class. In your example, chemicals is an object class even though the chemicals may be of different/several types. Chemical can also be an adjective if it is used to modify a noun. In the phrase chemical compound , compound is the noun (object class) and chemical tells you what kind of compound.
Your examples of countable nouns are plural nouns. The fact that they are plural does not mean that they are countable. It is only necessary that there be more than one. For example, there are an infinite number of points in a circle. The points are not countable but we know there are more than one so points is plural. Now, sometimes when we don’t know the details of a situation we speak in generalities and we assume the plural. For example, if your car were stolen, you might call the police and say …they stole my car!, assuming the plural they.
Hope this helps.
RE: Adjcetives --> Nouns and uncountable nouns
Thank you for your hints