The bare form of the word "beaver"

Forums: English, Esl, Grammar, Brazilian Beaver Pelts
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I like the bare form "beaver." But would grammatical rules require it to be "a beaver" or "beavers"?

Context:

The valley is thought to have been named after David (Davey) Edward Jackson who trapped beaver in the area in the early nineteenth century. Though used by Native Americans for hunting and ceremonial purposes, the valley was not known to harbor year-round human settlement prior to the 1870s. Descriptions of the valley and its features were recorded in the journals of John Colter, who had been a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. After returning to the Rocky Mountains, Colter entered the region in 1807 in the vicinity of Togwotee Pass and became the first white American to see the valley. His reports of the valley, the Teton Range and the Yellowstone region to the north were viewed by people of the day with skepticism.

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Type: Question • Score: 10 • Views: 3,348 • Replies: 38

View best answer, chosen by oristarA

@oristarA,

Wow...I thought this would be a thread on a completely different topic!

In any case, I think "...who trapped beaver..." works just fine.

2 Replies

@Frank Apisa,

Me too, Frank, rushed right in, but .... no.
~~
O, some terms are not pluralized when they are being talked of in a general sense.

Other critters which are spoken of in the same way are:
Otters, rabbits, squirrels: "He trapped otter, squirrel and rabbit using three different types of trap. He hunted bear in the middle mountains using a rifle with a large telescopic sight."

You could put a 's' on all of those and still be okay.
"He trapped otters, squirrels and rabbits using three different types of traps. He hunted bears in the middle mountains using a rifle with a large telescopic sight."

But, 'beaver', I think is a special case, you could say "He trapped beavers in the blah-blah-blah." BUT

to the English-American-Canadian ear it would sound funny or off in some way.

What does everybody else think?

Joe(Who else likes the bare form of beaver?)Nation Wink

1 Reply

Joe Nation wrote:

Who else likes the bare form of beaver?

Trichopathophobes do..

0 Replies

@Joe Nation,

Put "bare" and "beaver" into Google and you'd probably get a million hits...but I doubt more than one or two would apply to this question.

1 Reply

@Frank Apisa,

Yes.
A friend of mine found that out the hard way when he decided to help his teenage daughter search for a job.

Google Search: Teen Jobs revealed a little too much for Dad and Daughter.

Joe(Maybe I should ask at school, daddy.?)Nation

0 Replies

@Frank Apisa,

Frank Apisa wrote:

Wow...I thought this would be a thread on a completely different topic!

In any case, I think "...who trapped beaver..." works just fine.

Yes, my intuition told me it's fine.

What title is more proper according to the context offered by the thread?

1 Reply

I think this topic could be best be called the 'hunter's plural'. When animals which are hunted or trapped are being refered to in the plural, there is a specialised usage affecting plurals, the singular form being used.

I saw a herd of stampeding buffalo. He shot six lion, three tiger and six antelope. Furthermore, at least in Britain, two of the same creature or thing are referred to as a brace: I shot a brace of grouse. I hunt with a brace of dogs. I took a brace of guns when I went shooting.

1 Reply

@contrex,

Heh.

I had a herd of dog a few years ago, four head, two boxers, a dobe and a cat.
Joe(honorary dog)Nation

1 Reply

@oristarA,

Quote:

What title is more proper according to the context offered by the thread?

Your title is fine, Oristar, Frank and I are just being silly.

"Beaver' is a euphemism for vagina and its attendant pubic hair.
"Bare" makes people, well, me and Frank anyway, think of this area being clean shaven. (A recent fad, I'm told, amongst the young adults of America.)

You could have asked "Should the word 'beaver' be pluralized in this sentence?"

We would have said "No." and been done with it.

Joe(Be Well 得到很好的)Nation

2 Replies

@Joe Nation,

Joe Nation wrote:

I had a herd of dog a few years ago

You hunt (or trap) dog?

0 Replies

You had me at bare beaver.....

0 Replies

@oristarA,

Quote:

But would grammatical rules require it to be "a beaver" or "beavers"?

I'll suggest that this use might hold a mass noun meaning. Back in them there days, trappers/hunters took all they could.

0 Replies

@Joe Nation,

Joe Nation wrote:

Quote:
What title is more proper according to the context offered by the thread?

Your title is fine, Oristar, Frank and I are just being silly.

"Beaver' is a euphemism for vagina and its attendant pubic hair.
"Bare" makes people, well, me and Frank anyway, think of this area being clean shaven. (A recent fad, I'm told, amongst the young adults of America.)

You could have asked "Should the word 'beaver' be pluralized in this sentence?"

We would have said "No." and been done with it.

Joe(Be Well 得到很好的)Nation

Cool. We've got a double-entendre unintentionally.

BTW, it is for the first time that you've spoken Chinese here, Joe. "Be Well" means "保重“ （bao zhong) in Chinese. "得到很好的" is not natural and it seems no native Chinese speak like that.

2 Replies

@oristarA,

oristarA wrote:

"得到很好的" is not natural and it seems no native Chinese speak like that.

Now you know what it feels like!

2 Replies

@contrex,

Quote:

Now you know what it feels like!

It's natural for students of language to have interference from their mother tongue. What's not natural is to have a person who purports to be a language teacher so often mislead on language issues. A little more humility, please, C.

1 Reply

@contrex,

Quote:

Now you know what it feels like!

I do too. Bare beaver has been the cause of my downfall.

0 Replies

@JTT,

JTT wrote:

A little more humility, please, C.

Back on ignore... prat.

1 Reply

@contrex,

An English "teacher" unable to defend his positions scurries to his little hole. You'd make a hell of an American, C.

0 Replies

@oristarA,

Quote:

BTW, it is for the first time that you've spoken Chinese here, Joe. "Be Well" means "保重“ （bao zhong) in Chinese. "得到很好的" is not natural and it seems no native Chinese speak like that.

Rats! I was trying to show off. The Chairman of my company is coming this month and he and I are going on a two trip together. His English is reputedly poor and I only know how to say "Hello" in Chinese. So I have been practicing using Google Translate on my iPhone.
If it cannot say "Be well" correctly, I am in big trouble.

The other day I tried finding out how to say "Good Night" to local manager, he laughed and said that I had learned to say the equivalent of "Nighty-night".

Joe(gah!)Nation

1 Reply

The bare form of the word "beaver"

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