Comment on 7 years ago there were no billionaires worth more than $100 billion - today there are 18!

• KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

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

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  • yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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    • SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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 adjective noun. While it serves the purpose of an adjective, it’s still technically a noun.

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

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    • phdepressed@sh.itjust.works ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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      • yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

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

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• bitjunkie@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Nouns can be adjectives in Freedom Language™

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