Take this sentence:
> There is x candy on the counter.
Now you know that x is 1.
If 0 were not plural, then you wouldn't know that. Therefore it is useful that 0 is plural.
Why is zero plural? (2024)
121–130 of 209 posts
Re: Why is zero plural? (2024)
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am not trying to be funny. It seems to me that you are misunderstanding the usage of the word zero in this context, as in absence of any. Synonymous to "no", as in "no threes". It is not about the number 0.
OK, if you think I'm the one misunderstanding the question, can you explain how? The example in the question is: > For example, if we choose two 2s, zero 3s, and one 5 That's talking about "zero 3s", not "three zeroes".
I was too quick to press post, and I updated my above comment after you replied to it.
In addition, see the adj. definition of zero: https://www.oed.com/dictionary/zero_n?tl=true#1209971660
Re: Why is zero plural? (2024)
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am not trying to be funny. It seems to me that you are misunderstanding the usage of the word zero in this context, as in absence of any. Synonymous to "no", as in "no threes". It is not about the number 0.
OK, if you think I'm the one misunderstanding the question, can you explain how? The example in the question is: > For example, if we choose two 2s, zero 3s, and one 5 That's talking about "zero 3s", not "three zeroes".
> That's talking about "zero 3s", not "three zeroes".
In this context "zero" is not a noun, but an adjective.
Re: Why is zero plural? (2024)
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
"My car has no steering wheel", though, so isn't it related to how many you'd expect?
I'd say steering wheels are "normally capped at 1"... although I recall one distinct occasion where I expected two steering wheels, in a training car for new drivers. Alas, it seemed the local school-district could only afford a car with a second brake-pedal for the instructor, which did very little to help my anxieties. So my first time behind the (singular) wheel and they told me to pull onto a major street next to…
The exceptions are always fun: https://imgs.classicfm.com/images/41395?crop=16_9&width=660&...
Re: Why is zero plural? (2024)
#125Incorrectly top voted answers. "zeroes" is the plural form. The use of zero in "zero 3s" is not the number 0 but an adjective, synonym to "no" in that context. The correct answer is the third one: https://ell.stackexchange.com/a/352496 I guess this is one of the reasons for the failing popularity of the Stack Exchange sites, simply voted best answers that are incorrect. Similar to how you will find 30 incorrect upvot…
This is incredibly confusing. Of course the plural of zero (as a noun) is zero(e)s. But then you state that you understand that it's not about the noun, and still go on to say that the answers sharing your view are wrong..?
Re: Why is zero plural? (2024)
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "What if there was no star in the sky?" does not sound particularly weird I disagree: The most-charitable scenario I can think of is that someone has context-shifted from regular "stars" to "our sun, Sol, which is technically a star even though we typically consider it separate from the rest." In other words, it involves a situation where someone is assuming the amount is capped at 1. (Yes, I know binary stars exis…
> I disagree With what? English is defined by use, and we can find untold examples of "No star in the sky."
> we can find untold examples of "No star in the sky."
But the original example was "What if there was no star in the sky?" so your example is irrelevant. The original example sounds weird (to me, a native speaker). But "No star in the sky is a triangle" sounds OK and contains your example phrase.
Re: Why is zero plural? (2024)
#127Re: Why is zero plural? (2024)
#128Two thoughts
1) Zero is expressing the absence of any, and its singular "just one" that is a special case
2) Plurality of zero is inconsistent with a lot of more modern creates using singular - zero carb, zero tolerance, etc. In these cases it does look like they simply substituted the word "zero" in for "no".
Re: Why is zero plural? (2024)
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
French, which treats zero as a singular I believe has a weird way of saying "no one" Personne on its own means ''no one'', but une personne means a person.
IIRC, formally "personne" has to be used with the "ne" negation in order to mean 'nobody', such as "personne ne l'a vu", which makes a certain kind of sense ('a person hasn't seen it' -> nobody has seen it). But French people usually drop "ne" in spoken language.
“Sans personne” means “without anyone” and has no “ne”.
Re: Why is zero plural? (2024)
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
"My car has no steering wheel", though, so isn't it related to how many you'd expect?
I'd say steering wheels are "normally capped at 1"... although I recall one distinct occasion where I expected two steering wheels, in a training car for new drivers. Alas, it seemed the local school-district could only afford a car with a second brake-pedal for the instructor, which did very little to help my anxieties. So my first time behind the (singular) wheel and they told me to pull onto a major street next to…
In France, training cars have only one steering wheel, and the instructor is perfectly able to drive the vehicle by steering with his extended left arm.