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A comment on How Alexa knows “peanut butter” is one shopping-list item, not two. Parent comment

Re:How Alexa knows “peanut butter” is one shopping-list item... by torstenvl on Tuesday December 18, 2018 @01:52PM (#18709360)
As others have said, there's the pluralization of "peanut[s]" to distinguish between the two. This is a useful feature of English: the adjective-like role of a noun in a complex noun phrase is (almost?) always singular.

    - Computer engineer
    - NOT computers* engineer

    - Toothbrush
    - NOT teethbrush*

    - Foot doctor
    - NOT feet* doctor

    - Alarm clock
    - NOT alarms* clock, even when it supports multiple alarms!
Additionally, there's phrasal intonation. If the intonation and stress decrease throughout the phrase, it's a single item. If the intonation and stress reset for "butter," then it's a new item.

    - 'PEA ,Nut but ter
    - 'PEA nut 'BUT ter
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Re:How Alexa knows “peanut butter” is one shopping-list item... by fooker on Tuesday December 18, 2018 @02:12PM (#18709583)
Proudfeet!
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Re:How Alexa knows “peanut butter” is one shopping-list item... by sakebomb on Tuesday December 18, 2018 @02:00PM (#18709458)
Alexa, please tell me about the...

Attorneys general Senators elect

Ahhhhhhh!

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Re:How Alexa knows “peanut butter” is one shopping-list item... by ksenzee on Tuesday December 18, 2018 @03:28PM (#18710233)
The difference is that these are phrases with adjectives, not nouns being used adjectivally.
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Re:How Alexa knows “peanut butter” is one shopping-list item... by a1369209993 on Tuesday December 18, 2018 @04:27PM (#18710746)
"Attorney generals" is a noun phrase (admittedly of questionable adjectivity). "Attorneys general" is a blind idiot translation of a phrase in a language with different grammatical rules (Latin, IIRC).
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Re:How Alexa knows “peanut butter” is one shopping-list item... by gowld on Tuesday December 18, 2018 @05:01PM (#18710987)
"Attorney" is a noun. "General" as used here is an adjective. It's unusual in that the adjective follows the noun without a hyphen, but it's common enough, and it's where prepositional phrases are seen, like "Big man on campus" and "powers that be".

Did ancient Romans have attorneys general?

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