Plural of Mercedes?
Tina Chaulk
dictionaries but I just can't find out what the plural of Mercedes should
be. Is it Mercedes'? I don't want the plural of Mercedes Benz as this is a
little long for the fiction story that I am writing and my character would
just not use that term. Your help would be appreciated.
Tina
Six
<cha...@nf.sympatico.ca> wrote:
How would you pluralise Anaļs? Mercedes was the daughter of a man who, way
back, bought up a whole year's production run of Daimler-Benz cars.
When I worked with M-B, we'd typically call them, in plural form,
Mercedes: "there are only two Mercedes left on the lot'.
JUST AN H
Length should never be a deterrent to writing if length contributes to
clarity.
I would write, "...a couple of expensive Mercedes Benz automobiles..." or
"... several shiny black Mercedes Benz limousines formed a cortege inching its
way toward the Governor's Mansion for the reception. Smoked windows hid the
faces of visiting heads of state from the cheering crowds lining the
streets......."
Desmond Koene
>Could anyone help me out with this? I've searched books, the internet,
>dictionaries but I just can't find out what the plural of Mercedes should
>be. Is it Mercedes'? I don't want the plural of Mercedes Benz as this is a
>little long for the fiction story that I am writing and my character would
>just not use that term. Your help would be appreciated.
>Tina
>
Impulsively I would say that a plural of Mercedes doesn't exist, because it is a
name. You do not say: one Paul, two Pauls, or one Mary, two Maries.
Grammatically though, you could easyly say it. So I would opt for: one Mercedes,
two Mercedeses; like: one Chrysler, two Chryslers, or one Opel, two Opels.
Mercedes', with the apostrophe would be a genitive, meaning: of Mercedes. The
Mercedes' discount is: 25 percent.
Have a great day!
Desmond Koene
e-mail: dko...@wxs.nl
web: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/8544/
http://www.members.tripod.com/~dkoene/
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the jungle kitty
> How would you pluralise Anaļs? Mercedes was the daughter of a man who, way
> back, bought up a whole year's production run of Daimler-Benz cars.
>
> When I worked with M-B, we'd typically call them, in plural form,
> Mercedes: "there are only two Mercedes left on the lot'.
If I remember correctly, she died in an automobile accident.
the jungle kitty
> Impulsively I would say that a plural of Mercedes doesn't exist, because it is a
> name. You do not say: one Paul, two Pauls, or one Mary, two Maries.
>
> e-mail: dko...@wxs.nl
> web: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/8544/
> http://www.members.tripod.com/~dkoene/
> http://www.fortunecity/skyscraper/parallax/301/
> ================================================================
> Primary School St. Willibrord
> Oranjelaan 96
> 2161 KH Lisse
> tel.: 0252-414101
> the Netherlands
> ================================================================
There are two brothers-in-law who work at the bar where I eat lunch
during the week. Bill is their name. People often refer to them as
"the Bills." "Little Bill" is married to Bill's sister.
Stephen Wilson
could acquire a number of Pontiacs,Chevrolets, Autin-Healys, LaSalles,
or Rolls-Royces. All of these were names before they were automobile
marques. We have to pluralize them because we want to refer to more than
one, not caring for a moment that they are proper names.
Come to think of it, I can't see anything wrong with visiting the
Smiths, or the Joneses. The distinction between surnames and given
names, if that distinction still exists at all, doesn't seem to make a
difference either. I would not be surprised to learn that there are a
number of Katies in my daughter's class.
I think the reason for using for using "Mercedes" to refer to more than
one Mercedes is just that the repeated s sound takes more effort to
vocalize. Regardless of the effort required, I think we have to speak of
the relatives of the late Earl Scruggs as the Scruggses.
Serenleono
>I think the reason for using for using "Mercedes" to refer to more than
>one Mercedes is just that the repeated s sound takes more effort to
>vocalize.
I'd probably use Mercedeses, as you suggest, when referring to
automobiles. The problem arises not so much because of the sound of
repeated esses, however, as from the fact that Mercedes is, in
Spanish, a plural already -- at least as a personal name, which honors
*Santa Maria de Mercedes*, St Mary of Mercies. It's awkward to
pluralise a plural. It would be like taxeses or speckleses. But when
a plural becomes a name -- of a person, corporation, or car, -- then
we have to make an exception and deal with the awkwardness as best as
we can. In short, I think your suggestion is a good one.
Seren
Opinicus
<35b0d8f9...@news.mindspring.com>...
>I'd probably use Mercedeses, as you suggest, when referring to
>automobiles. The problem arises not so much because of the
sound of
>repeated esses, however, as from the fact that Mercedes is, in
>Spanish, a plural already -- at least as a personal name, which
honors
>*Santa Maria de Mercedes*, St Mary of Mercies. It's awkward to
>pluralise a plural. It would be like taxeses or speckleses.
But when
>a plural becomes a name -- of a person, corporation, or car, --
then
>we have to make an exception and deal with the awkwardness as
best as
>we can. In short, I think your suggestion is a good one.
intriguing. I had no idea Mercedes was a Spanish plural but for
some reason "Mercedeses" grates on my ear too.
Now here's a puzzle: Suppose there were two towns in a state
each with the name "Athens". Would you say "There are two
Athenses" in that state? That sounds awful. Personally I'd be
inclined to say "There are two Athens" and damn the logic of
English phonology. "Athens" of course is, strictly speaking, a
plural... On the other hand I have no problem with "Gee, Toto!
We must have been in two different Kansases in this movie."
Very, very odd.
Bob
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Stephen Wilson
> The easiest and least awkward way to pluralize "Mercedes" is simple: "Mercedes
> automobiles." Or "Mercedes cars." Or simply, "2 Mercedes."
Or perhaps "a Mercedes automobile and another one"? The question,
JustAn, was not how to avoid saying it, but how to say it right.
Your final suggestion, "2 Mercedes" totally begs the question by using
Mercedes as a plural form when it is not.
JUST AN H
either sounds impossibly awkward orally (Mercedeses) or becomes possessive,
rather than plural (Mercedes') when properly written.
I think the trouble lies with the fact that "Mercedes" ends with the letter
"s," and so can't be as easily pluralized as can other makes of automobiles
(Pontiac, Nissan, Chevrolet, Rolls-Royce, etc.)
The easiest and least awkward way to pluralize "Mercedes" is simple: "Mercedes
automobiles." Or "Mercedes cars." Or simply, "2 Mercedes."
BTW, the "Mercedes" part of "Mercedes Benz" has nothing to do with a Spanish
Sainte. Mercedes was the daughter of Mr. Benz' partner.
Stephen Wilson
> BTW, the "Mercedes" part of "Mercedes Benz" has nothing to do with a Spanish
> Sainte. Mercedes was the daughter of Mr. Benz' partner.
Not quite, JustAn.
"On January 29, 1886 the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin granted Karl
Benz German Patent No. 37435 for the world's first motor car. Its 0.7 hp
engine was mounted horizontally at the rear of a three-wheeler carriage.
The motor car was born.
"1898. The name Mercedes. In 1898, Emil Jellinek, who bought and sold
Daimler products, took part in the
Nice-Magagnon-Nice rally under the pseudonym Mercedes, his daughter's
name. He won the race in a Daimler.
"1924. The Merger. After winning a combined 269 races, Daimler Motoren
Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie. co-ordinate their production activities and
two years later merged into present day Mercedes Benz."
(From M-B history website)
I'd say it's a good bet that the Jellineks were aware that the name they
gave their daughter referred to St. Mary of Mercies, as Seren points
out.
Steve
Serenleono
>BTW, the "Mercedes" part of "Mercedes Benz" has nothing to do with
>a Spanish Sainte. Mercedes was the daughter of Mr. Benz' partner.
I follow your point, but I wasn't really saying that Mr Benz named a
person or his company for Santa Maria directly, only that Mercedes, as
a personal name in general, came from *Santa Maria de Mercedes*, St
Mary of Mercies.
If my name were David, for example, it wouldn't necessarily follow
that my parents were naming me after the patron saint of Wales or the
Biblical hero who slew Goliath. They might have been naming me after
a friend from college or my grandfather, but the name David in general
is linked with those two historical/mythical persons.
Seren
Serenleono
>(From M-B history website)
>"1898. The name Mercedes. In 1898, Emil Jellinek, who bought and sold
>Daimler products, took part in the Nice-Magagnon-Nice rally under the
>pseudonym Mercedes, his daughter's name. He won the race in a Daimler.
Ah, fascinating. I didn't know the history of the company name
myself, so thanks for educating me, Steve.
Seren
Richard Crist
"...Mercedes...-es...or however you say it."
--
Richard Crist
http://home.att.net/~archae
free course in logic
Tina Chaulk <cha...@nf.sympatico.ca> wrote in article
<35abb...@204.101.95.15>...
Opinicus
<6ot2nh$l...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>...
>Maybe you could have your character say something like,
>"...Mercedes...-es...or however you say it."
Given the fictional context, I'd probably write something like:
"The suspect totalled three Mercedes before the insurors
blacklisted him."
But then nobody has ever actually *bought* my fiction.
>Tina Chaulk <cha...@nf.sympatico.ca> wrote in article
>> Could anyone help me out with this? I've searched books, the
internet,
>> dictionaries but I just can't find out what the plural of
Mercedes should
>> be. Is it Mercedes'? I don't want the plural of Mercedes Benz
as this is
>a
>> little long for the fiction story that I am writing and my
character
>would
>> just not use that term. Your help would be appreciated.
>> Tina
They pay handsomely for the non-fiction though.
Bob
Istanbul
Quackenbush
The important part of this discussion is how to form the plural of
"Mercedes." Since the name is legally protected, it must be used not as a
noun ("He drove off in a Mercedes.") but as an adjective ("He drove off in a
Mercedes sedan.").
-------------------------------------------
Jeff and Tammy Quackenbush
vamp...@nospam.prodigy.net
vamp...@nospam.hotmail.com
Note: Remove "nospam." from the addresses above.
Serenleono
>Since the name is legally protected, it must be used not as a
>noun ("He drove off in a Mercedes.") but as an adjective ("He
>drove off in a Mercedes sedan.").
Pray, why must it? Corporate trademark law has no such authority, to
my knowledge. In any case, a vehicle manufactured by Mercedes *is*,
in common usage, often called "a Mercedes", so the question is still a
fair one. For those who aren't overly discomfited by pluralizing the
technically already-plural Mercedes, I see nothing wrong with
"Mercedeses"; it's functional enough, though clearly awkward. Anyone
else can certainly adopt your suggestion. Frankly, I've not yet found
myself in a situation where I'd have to choose, so I'm not sure which
word or method I'd actually use.
Seren
P&DSchultz
>
> IMPORTANT: To reply, remove "nospam." from the address.
>
> The important part of this discussion is how to form the plural of
> noun ("He drove off in a Mercedes.") but as an adjective ("He drove off in a
> Mercedes sedan.").
UH OH! YOU JUST DID IT! The copyright police probably troll for
tradenames on these newsgroups, so you might be in trouble.
//P. Schultz
Stephen Wilson
From hiss poste I heff learned zat you peeble are using Mercedes as ein
Noun. Ve are zending after you Heinz mit hiss Luger brand sidearm.
Helmut