Nothings?

Can there be nothings?


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Shedinja8

Niger, atrum vel malum. Sumo.
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    I was working in my latin class today with pural nouns and what not and I started righting some words I knew. The word Nihil came up. I thought about it for a moment. Nihil means literally "nothing" but does that mean I can't be plural? Can nothing in any language be pural? Can there be many nothings in real life? The more I asked these question to myself, the more I began conflicting with myself. I need an answer despertaly. I would enjoy some oppinions on this. So the main question is:
    Can the be nothings?
     
    In grammar, "nothing" is part of a set of indefinite pronouns...so it's indefinite. It is treated as as a singular noun, though.
     
    Technically and grammatically, no...but it has been used in poetic language quite often over the ages...
     
    You can whisper sweet nothings into your lover's ear. ;]

    I actually haven't heard it used any other way in writing, though. Scientifically, no one thing is nothing. It's all made up of atoms of some sort.
     
    Convention may dictate that you can't have 'nothings' but conceptually you can. It's like in mathematics where you have multiple infinities.

    "There is nothing going on in my life. Nothing happens at work. My fridge has nothing in it. All these nothings are bringing me down."

    I wouldn't say someone is wrong to write that, just unconventional. The 'nothings' are all qualified.
     
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