Garner's fourth edition reads we accord to plaintiff his due.
Why is this nominal indirect object used without any article at all?
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3Please add more context, and if possible a link. This sounds like legalese, where articles are dropped possibly more frequently than in headlinese.– Edwin AshworthMar 16, 2021 at 16:29
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What @Edwin said. But note this webpage titled Use of Articles from "Cuny School of Law". It uses the word plaintiff in no less than 6 different examples, always preceded by the definite article. Also note that in court, the judge almost always gets an article, but counsel for defence / prosecution generally don't.– FumbleFingersMar 16, 2021 at 16:51
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2@FumbleFingers [LAW] the lawyer or lawyers representing one party or the other in court: [countable] "Does counsel have an objection?'' the judge asked; [uncountable] On the advice of counsel, I refuse to answer. wordreference.com/definition/counsel– GJCMar 16, 2021 at 17:00
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@GJC: That's too complicated for me! I have no idea why your first example counts as "countable", whereas the second one doesn't. And although it's obviously far less common, I have no problem with the actual grammar of pluralised On the advice of counsels....– FumbleFingersMar 16, 2021 at 17:06
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@FumbleFingers oed.com/oed2/00180661 and oed.com/oed2/00051624– GJCMar 16, 2021 at 17:27
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