A Question on Grammar, or Terrible Plurals

[novin_ha]

I'm learning about Nouns right now. And I am consulting two Grammar Books - my beloved Swan's Practical English Usage and Somebody's Practical Grammar of English.

Swan says that the proper form is woman-hater => woman-haters, because unlike in woman doctors the first noun is not used like an adjective.

Mr Somebody says that when the noun consists of two nouns and one of them is 'man' or 'woman' we have to change both of them in the plural - so it's woman hater => women haters.

Does anyone know which version is correct? Or if both are acceptable? Or if one of them is simply old-fashioned or something?

(I have chosen BrE, if it has any bearing on it).

Comments

[snegurochka_lee]

Hmm. I used to teach English to Slavs, and you've stumped me. :) Fortunately, it's not a phrase one hears too much, or needs to pluralise often, but I see the value of the rule in general. Saying it out loud to myself, I would use 'women-haters.' As in, "We should get all those women-haters together and barbeque them." But 'woman-hater' doesn't sound hugely wrong, to my ear.

As for formal writing, though, I just don't know, alas. :)

[novin-ha.livejournal.com]

Aphrodeia enlightened me :) But yes, that's a good phrase, let's barbecue the woman haters :)

And evil Duckmen to, while we're at that. I'm scared he might become the president.... Tusk has 70% of the votes of people between 19 and 24, but half of these stupid gits don't vote at all, cuz they are studying where they do not live and they didn't get themselves a silly paper that would enable them to vote outside where they live. Arrgh.

[aphrodeia.livejournal.com]

With that particular phrase, 'women' is never used. 'Woman' is used as a representative for the gender as a whole, so it doesn't get pluralised.

Mr Somebody might be right from a logical standpoint, that you should pluralise certain things (etc), but not in this case.

[novin-ha.livejournal.com]

Thanks :) You made my day - my beloved Swan couldn't be wrong, I knew it :D

I'm afraid my teacher won't be convinced, anyway. I tried to argue the point with her, alas... She believes Mr Somebody :(