# EN: a massive 153,000 copies



## ph.dess

[…]

a massive 153,000 copies

Which of the words are adjectives in those expressions? Thanks.


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## ogspog89

Un adjectif est un mot qui décrit un nom (une chose ou des choses). Il faut identifier la chose dans la phrase, puis trouver le mot qui lui donne une description. Donc quel mot serait l'adjectif?


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## ph.dess

ogspog89 said:


> Un adjectif est un mot qui décrit un nom (une chose ou des choses). Il faut identifier la chose dans la phrase, puis trouver le mot qui lui donne une description. Donc quel mot serait l'adjectif?



Ce qui me gène ici, c'est que nous avons un déterminant "a"et un nom au pluriel "copies"donc je me dis que le déterminant ne peut pas s'appliquer à un nom pluriel, de plus, "massive" est généralement utilisé comme adjectif, donc s'agit il d'un adjectif composé? Je n'arrive pas à déterminer.


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## ogspog89

Désolé. Je viens de me rendre compte de votre problème là. 

"A massive" s'applique à la quantité de "copies", pas aux "copies" eux-mêmes. Donc l'adjectif s'applique à 153 000. La quantité est "massive".


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## Juan Jacob Vilalta

"A massive" s'applique à la quantité de "copies", pas aux "copies" elles-mêmes. Donc l'adjectif s'applique à 153 000. La quantité est "massive".

Le seul adjectif, pour reprendre la question, est massive. Simple.


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## lucas-sp

So are "153,000" and "copies" both nouns? What's their relationship to each other?

[…]


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## ogspog89

[…]

Anyway, 153 000 is the amount. "A massive" describes this amount. "Copies" is a noun. I'm not sure about the terminology and whether the amount is a noun or not, but I'm sure everyone can understand the role of the components without labels?


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## lucas-sp

[…]

Here's the problem: yes, "copies" is a noun. If "massive" is an adjective modifying the amount, then "153,000" is a noun (remember, _adjectives modify nouns_ and only nouns). Then do we end up with two nouns stuck next to each other modifying each other, i.e. doing something nouns aren't supposed to do? Discuss?


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## ph.dess

Thanks very much for your help.


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## ph.dess

I have just had an idea, could we consider there is an ellipsis

a massive selling of 153000 copies

What do you think of this explanation?


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## Keith Bradford

I think the question of whether numbers are adjectives or nouns is a bit of a red herring. In English, after all, any word can change its part of speech almost at will. E.g. _That book is *yellow *_(adjective). *Yellow *(noun) _is a lovely colour_.

In this case, _153,000 _is clearly both at the same time; it's a noun qualified by the adjective _massive_, but if so it's also a noun in opposition (otherwise known as an _adjectival noun, _i.e. an adjective) qualifying _copies_. Ambiguous? Yes, but console yourself with the thought that maturity is the ability to live with ambiguity.


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## lucas-sp

Thanks Keith. I obviously understood that English words are very protean in their part-of-speech. But these situations when one word is _simultaneously_ two parts of speech are really difficult; I feel like that's a "bad answer" to the question. Or perhaps the question isn't as well-phrased as it could be. Instead of "count the adjectives," you could ask "which words modify other words?"


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## pointvirgule

I would like to chance a theory. Let's consider "153,000 copies" a noun phrase (nominal syntagm?) that acts as a unit in the sentence. Thus the adjective _massive _would qualify that whole unit rather than the numeral _153,000_ or the noun _copies _individually. And treating that phrase as a unit in the singular would justify the use of the singular article _a_ in front of it. Does that make sense? Would that be a grammatically sound explanation?


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## lucas-sp

"Hello, Kinko's. What can I get for you?"
"One 153,000 copies, please!"

Um... it doesn't look like it works that well.


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## pointvirgule

lucas-sp said:


> "One 153,000 copies, please!"
> Um... it doesn't look like it works that well.


Not fair. You're changing the context. 

We need a grammarian here.


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## Nicomon

pointvirgule said:


> I would like to chance a theory. Let's consider "153,000 copies" a noun phrase (nominal syntagm?) that acts as a unit in the sentence. Thus the adjective _massive _would qualify that whole unit rather than the numeral _153,000_ or the noun _copies _individually. And treating that phrase as a unit in the singular would justify the use of the singular article _a_ in front of it. Does that make sense? Would that be a grammatically sound explanation?


  I'm no grammarian, but that theory sounds logical to me.  

_A massive 153,000 copies_ = _A massive number of copies_.  
Would _massive_ qualify _number_ only?  Or _number of copies_.  I think it can be both.  If it qualifies_ number_ only, then I'd say _153,000 _works as a noun. 

Similar example (I think) : _
This tractor weighs a heavy 2000 pounds!   _What does _heavy _qualify?  Wouldn't _2000 pounds_ be considered as a noun phrase or nominal syntagm? And then 2000 (by itself) a numeral adjective qualifying pounds?

Indeed, we do need a grammarian.


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