“Tantamount” has only one grammatical function

By Chinua Asuzu

“Tantamount” has only one grammatical function: that of an adjective. Indeed, it’s not any kind of adjective; it’s a predicate adjective.

A predicate adjective is one that follows a linking verb (typically a be-verb like “becomes” or “is”) but modifies the subject.

An attributive adjective, on the other hand, typically precedes the noun element it modifies.

One adjective can be both attributive and predicate, depending on the context. “Tantamount” is always predicate, never attributive. So you can’t say “tantamount behavior”; you say, “that behavior is tantamount to …”

 “Tantamount” means “equivalent to” or “virtually the same as” or “as grievous or serious as.”

“Tantamount” is never a verb. So you can’t say one thing “tantamounts to” another. You say one thing “is tantamount to” another.

“Tantamounts” is a nonword.

Also

If your uppercase abbreviations or initials take internal periods, end with a period. So it’s J. K. Rowling, not J. K Rowling. And it’s W.H.O., not W.H.O

Don’t forget that:

 The noun “clothes” has no singular form.

“Clothe” is always a verb, never a noun.

“Cloth” refers to the fabric, and its plural is “cloths,” not “clothes.”

Lastly:

The noun “alms” is both singular and plural. “Alm” is a nonword and an illicit back-formation.