709
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by darnisha1@sh.itjust.works to c/aboringdystopia@lemmy.world
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 months ago

I think it's because it's describing the noun.

[-] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 2 months ago

It's not describing the noun, it's part of the noun.

Quick analogy in German:

space billionaire = Weltraummilliärdär

spacefaring billionaire = weltraumreisender Milliärdär

In German, adjective + noun cannot be written together to form a new noun. To form one, only noun + noun can be used. And English is close enough to Germanic languages for that rule to remain the same, I think.

[-] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

You are correct. In English, when a noun is used to modify another noun (as an adjective does), it's referred to as a noun adjunct, attributive noun, or, more rarely, an adjectival noun (the last almost exclusively refers to a similar usage in Japanese). While it serves the purpose of an adjective, it's still technically a noun.

Examples are chicken soup, toy store, race car, and boat lane.

[-] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 months ago

To be clear it's not about "spacefaring" billionaires but about "spacing" billionaires aka dumping them out an airlock into space as seen in various "The Expanse" scenes.

[-] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 2 months ago

That's for the second one though, for the [verb] [noun] combination. The "[adjective]" [noun] combination implies spacefaring or similar, doesn't it?

this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024
709 points (98.8% liked)

A Boring Dystopia

9771 readers
626 users here now

Pictures, Videos, Articles showing just how boring it is to live in a dystopic society, or with signs of a dystopic society.

Rules (Subject to Change)

--Be a Decent Human Being

--Posting news articles: include the source name and exact title from article in your post title

--If a picture is just a screenshot of an article, link the article

--If a video's content isn't clear from title, write a short summary so people know what it's about.

--Posts must have something to do with the topic

--Zero tolerance for Racism/Sexism/Ableism/etc.

--No NSFW content

--Abide by the rules of lemmy.world

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS