English Language & Usage Asked by midenok on July 7, 2021
Is this sentence correct:
The semantics of … is double.
There is an opionion "double" cannot be an adjective in such position, and a related compound must be used:
But I have found a counterexample written by a literary critic:
- Melville’s achievement was double: he brought myth into …
So may "double" as an adjective be used predicatively?
I can't find authoritative endorsement here, but I'll give a reasoned answer.
(1) As an adjective, 'double' is usually used attributively. I can't find an example sentence in a dictionary where it is used predicatively.
(2) One can readily find well-written examples on the internet of the form
- Prescription Drug Benefit: If a person chooses to buy two policies, the benefits are double.
However, all these seem to be reductions of
(3) I'd say that 'Melville's achievement was double (= twofold)' is at best unusual. Here, supporting evidence (not proof) is available, from Google ngrams:
[About half the hits for 'benefits are double' are false-positives, with strings like 'the benefits are double the pre-modernisation ones' or compounds like 'the benefits are double-edged'.]
Answered by Edwin Ashworth on July 7, 2021
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