למה אומרים

[LeBronze]

למה אומרים

it's a must הרי must זה לא countable noun...

 

[Zenith87]

זה ביטוי עממי

לא תראה את זה בספרוּת.

 

[LeBronze]

האנגלית משגעת אותי

 

[Woking]

oh, but it is

must (as a noun) is synonymous to "necessity", so "it's a must" is just like saying "it's a necessity". Nobody says "three musts" just because it doesn't really make sense, not because it is grammatically incorrect. Consider this: your boss tells you "you must this and you must that and must this and must that". Are there "so many musts" or "so much must"?​

 

[Zenith87]

Analogy

If I were to say, "Oh, but Woking, please buy me ice cream. Oh, oh, and Woking, please buy me a pony. And Woking, I want a penthouse, a jetplane and my own yacht..." ...and at this point, you'd lose patience and say: "Don't 'Woking' me!". Is 'Woking' a verb? Only in this extremely limited context. Ditto "must (n.)".​

 

[Woking]

must is a verb and a noun

must​

 

[Zenith87]

Point taken

But it's really a colloquialism​

 

[Woking]

no, it is not

must is a countable verb and an auxiliary verb, so says the Oxford Dictionary for the English language. It comes from the German word "muss". For example: Dies ist ein Muss == This is a must Mussen Sie Deutsch sprechen == You must speak German​

 

[Zenith87]

I stand corrected

To conclude the discussion on a lighter note: Did you know? "Must" (n.) also means "an annual period of heightened aggressiveness and sexual activity in male elephants, during which violent frenzies occur." (dictionary.com)​