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Possible Duplicate:
User’s Guide vs Users’ Guide
should a list of tokens be called a “token list” or a “tokens list”

I know we can use list of employees, but I'd like to know which is preferred or more correct: employee list or employees list?

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@WillHunting: I would never downvote because something is a duplicate, but I might downvote if a question seems to be about a trivial matter, while also showing no research effort. In other words, if the first three questions that pop into my head are: (1) Who cares? (2) Why would it matter? and (3) Why can't you figure this out? then I could see myself downvoting. When such questions are overrunning the board, I don't think it's a necessarily a bad thing for the community to show collective disdain. (Note: I didn't downvote this, but I'll bet it would fare better with some elaboration). – J.R. Aug 30 '12 at 13:10
+1 from me for similar reasons. I find @J.R.'s reasons acceptable, if a little harsh, but I think downvoting with no justification serves no purpose other than deterring fresh users. – Nieszka Aug 30 '12 at 13:18
Oh, and a google search for this issue returns no adequate results. – Nieszka Aug 30 '12 at 13:19
@Nieszka: I didn't mean to sound "harsh," and I don't want to deter new users from joining, but I don't mind deterring new users from asking shallow, inane, easily-verifiable questions. Every try Yahoo! Answers? People can ask anything they want to there - so they do: everything from "What should I name my baby?" to "How do i tell this girl that i like her?" I think that setting a tone where shallow questions are sharply downvoted can create a culture whereby people are not so flippant about asking them, which can help the long-term health of the community as a whole. – J.R. Aug 30 '12 at 18:43

marked as duplicate by FumbleFingers, Will Hunting, J.R., tchrist, Andrew Leach Aug 30 '12 at 13:21

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2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

"Employee" here is a noun adjunct (a noun used as an adjective). Noun adjuncts tend to be single (raisin bread, rose bush, bike path, etc.) because adjectives in English don't have a number.

See examples and explanation here: http://www.englishcorner.vacau.com/grammar/rules/nounadj.html

So, Employee List would be standard.

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I would go with Employee List (or Employee Directory). It is far more common to use the singular in this case. (You can Google both "Employee List" and "Employees List" to prove it to yourself.)

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