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View Full Version : [Dixonary] OT sort of: I am curious (dealing)


Dodi Schultz
October 23rd, 2006, 02:43 PM
>> I recently found myself getting into an online argument with a UK
>> native who insisted that the phrases "goats milk" and "cows milk"
>> were perfectly correct, citing the large number of hits on a Google
>> search as evidence.

AFAIK--I don't claim to be an authority on UK usage--you're right (of
course you are in AmE). Anyone who cites Google hits as evidence of correct
grammar--well...

--Dodi

bonnyjars
October 23rd, 2006, 03:08 PM
Tony

Three options in my mind

1. "goats' milk" and "cows' milk" ie the milk from a herd - as you would get it in a bottle which would not usually be the the
produce of a single individual animal

2. "goat's milk" and "cow's milk" ie from an individual animal - I mistyped "sow's milk" which would almost always be correct
because one would normally be referring to an individual sow and her litter

3. "goats milk" and "cows milk" is also possibly correct because the "animal" has merely become an adjective

In answer as to who was correct, I am afraid that nowadays the useage statistics rule, taste and erudition count for nothing - eat
ordure, 8,000,000,000,000 flies can't be wrong!

I would prefer 1 or 2 depending on context and regard 3 as laziness - but who am I?

JohnnyB


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Dave Cunningham
October 23rd, 2006, 04:23 PM
What, pray tell, is wrong with "goat milk" and "cow milk" rendering the use of apostrophes moot?

>>"goats milk" and "cows milk"

Dave

(massive multiple quoteback elided)

Judy Madnick
October 23rd, 2006, 06:02 PM
----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: "Dave Cunningham" <cunn5393 (AT) bellsouth (DOT) net>


<< What, pray tell, is wrong with "goat milk" and "cow milk" rendering the
<< use of apostrophes moot?

Probably just too simple. <G>

Judy

Tony Abell
October 23rd, 2006, 06:35 PM
On 2006-10-23 at 17:23 Dave Cunningham wrote:

DC> What, pray tell, is wrong with "goat milk" and "cow milk" rendering the
DC> use of apostrophes moot?

Nothing. The original argument was over whether plural nouns could be used as
adjectives. I said that I didn't think it sounded right and that, with the
exception of nouns that are normally plural (clothes washer), nouns used as
adjectives had to be singular.

But the other guy thought that goats milk, etc., was the way to go. Whether the
S there is supposed to be the plural or the genitive inflection, I have no idea,
but it only seems grammatically correct to me with an apostrophe somewhere.