[HPFGU-OTChatter] English grammar and such: On the Nature of Bookshelfs

[Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force)]

[Steve B]:
| But the even more complicated matter is Bookshelf Speakers.
| 
| The singular is obviously 'bookshelf' but what is the plural?
| 
| It is not really 'bookshelf' that is plural, it is 'speakers'.
| 
| We are not talking about two bookshelves, we are talking about
| two bookshelf speakers, which are referred to in short as
| "Bookshelfs".
| 
| Which of course bring up the very problem at hand, in this 
| context, is 'Bookshelfs' correct when referring to more than
| one Bookshelf Speaker? 
| 
| Inquirin

[Lee]:
You're still talking about more than one speaker, however, you're using the
style type "bookshelf" rather than the number of speakers.  Since the style
type is in the singular "Bookshelf," you are expressing a desire for more
than one speaker of the same style, so, IMHO, since the style name is a
singular, the fact that you want more than one still doesn't change it's
name.  saying you want two bookshelfs when referring to the speakers in
actuality seems correct to me.

Cheers,

Lee :-)
(Who would probably skip the shortening and say that she wanted two
bookshelf speakers.)

Do not walk behind me,    | Lee Storm
I may not care to lead;   | N2FGC
Do not walk before me,    | n2fgc at arrl.net (or)
I may not care to follow; | n2fgc at optonline.net
Walk beside me, and be my friend.