1

Which of the following options is better? Do the two choices reflect any difference in meaning?

"Matters regarding comments deletion"

or

"Matters regarding comment deletion"

--Assuming the intended meaning is "Matters regarding [deletion of comments]"?


Running list of related and duplicate questions:

Pluralization rules with prepositional phrases

Plural nouns in nominal compounds

When are attributive nouns plural?

https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/85654/how-can-i-explain-to-a-non-native-why-the-plural-of-a-noun-isnt-used-adjectival

0

1 Answer 1

0

--Assuming the intended meaning is "Deletion of comments"?

comments - Since it is in plural form, Comments Deletion is correct usage.


Edit:

"Matters regarding comments deletion"

(Various) Matters regarding deletion of (multiple) comments

"Matters regarding comment deletion"

(Various) Matters regarding deletion of (a) comment

Hence, the first sentence will convey the intended meaning

5
  • But what would be the difference in meaning? (Please see my edits to the question.)
    – SAH
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 12:13
  • @SAH - See my updated answer, please.
    – BiscuitBoy
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 12:22
  • But the tricky part is that "Deletion of Comments" implies a global matter, not just an individual comment(s)' being deleted. KWIM?
    – SAH
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 12:24
  • Can you provide context and a proper sentence? i am unable to understand. From your example, only the position of the subject and verb changes. Going by the intended meaning, it should take the plural form
    – BiscuitBoy
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 12:37
  • 1
    When used as adjectives, many nouns appear in the singular even though their meaning is semantically plural. For example, a grocery list and not a groceries list (you're usually buying groceries and not a single grocery), a book store (they undoubtedly have more than one book in stock), and a horse race (you can't have a race if there's only one horse). I would argue that comment deletion is not incorrect, and in fact is the more usual form in English. Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 18:09

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .