Why is it "runners-up", as opposed to the naïve "runner-ups"?
Is there a rule to remember for these situations?
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3Related: Chambers of Commerce? – RegDwigнt Dec 18 '10 at 21:11
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Chambers of Commerce is well established. The likes of runner-up are not quite the same. – Kris Dec 24 '11 at 14:55
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The OP is asking "why", not which form is correct, so I don't think the question should be closed. – Mari-Lou A Mar 20 '16 at 13:12
1 Answers
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The hyphenate runner-up contains a noun and an adverb/preposition. Only nouns can be pluralized. Since it is still hyphenated, the parts maintain their grammatical value.
SingLow
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2Thanks. I guess, 10 years into the future, when "runner-up" has been molten into "runnerup", its plural would change. ;) – Tomalak Dec 18 '10 at 21:17
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2@Tomalak: I think in that case SingLow's answer doesn't quite apply. I think the components are a verb and a preposition, and only together do they become a noun, and thus you pluralize the whole thing. Same goes for sit-ups and push-ups. – John Y Dec 20 '10 at 05:57
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@Tomalak seems to be one of many cases in the English language where there is a rule, and way too many exceptions for the rule. – ZomoXYZ Mar 11 '16 at 14:47