Can proper nouns have plural forms?
For exemple, can I say Parizoj or Francioj?
The sentence I want to create is like:
La Parizoj el 1900 kaj 2000 estas tre malsamaj.
So, should I add a 'j' to Parizo?
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Yes. If it's a noun, ending in -o, it can have -j and -n. No exceptions, as per normal. Well, you didn't expect otherwise, did you? :-) The whole language is based on the concept of no exceptions...– GáborCommented May 10, 2019 at 8:38
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Yeah, that's not false. ^^– LepticedCommented May 10, 2019 at 9:06
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2 Answers
To answer the actual question:
Can proper nouns have plural forms?
I wouldn't know why not. Let's say you have two friends called Adamo. I think you could say
La du Adamoj venis ĉe mi hieraŭ.
or
Mi tre ŝatas ambaŭ Adamojn.
(I'm only relying on my Sprachgefühl here, though, without knowing yet how reliable it is for Esperanto. I didn't yet look this up in any grammar book and don't know whether it would even be covered in one.)
original answer
While I think it would be grammatically correct, I'm uncertain whether:
- it is idiomatic
- it would be understood as you intend
I guess you want to express that Paris (presumably the city known worldwide as Paris, the capital of France) was very different in the year 1900 from how it was in the year 2000.
I think
La Parizoj el 1900 kaj 2000 estas tre malsamaj.
could be understood as there having been several "Parises" in 1900 and them having been very different from those "Parises" that existed in 2000. As there actually are (and have been for some time) several places called Paris (as well as various persons and things) that wouldn't be too far-fetched, even though it looks like the translation Parizo is only used for Paris, France.
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In fact, I do not want exactly to create this sentence. I wanted to focus on the plural form of proper nouns. Can these words have plural forms. That's the real interest for me.– LepticedCommented May 10, 2019 at 7:14
- Ekzistas diversaj Parizoj
- There exist two San Franciscos. (Meaning two sides.)
- There exist two San Franciscos. (Meaning two different cities.)
- En multaj kristanaj landoj ekzistas t.n. nomtagoj, la tago kie ĉiuj Johanoj festas sian nomtagon.
It is an entirely sound language usage. Here no need for "sides of San Francisco".
Your usage and the first two samples of me probably have some linguistic name describing some multiworld distinction made.
answered May 10, 2019 at 7:29
