a little doubt

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

Moderator: Alan

Post Reply
User avatar
Dixie
Top Contributor
Top Contributor
Posts: 3836
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2004 2:08 pm
Status: Teacher of English
Location: Catalunya

a little doubt

Post by Dixie »

Hi there, teachers. I'm reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and I came up with something that made me hesitate. On chapter 6 of the book, 1st paragraph, it says:

Still lifes, religious scenes and landscapes (...). The narrator is talking about paintings here. Ok, my question is:

Why Still lifes instead of still lives? What happened to the plural of "life"?
User avatar
Alan
Teacher/Moderator
Teacher/Moderator
Posts: 15193
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 7:56 pm
Status: Teacher of English
Location: Japan

Post by Alan »

A 'still life' is a type of painting (depicting e.g. a bowl of fruit). Its plural is 'still lifes'.
Post Reply