Should we use "it's called" or "it's called as"?

Assume now a little kid is asking me "What's the name of that animal with a long nose?" Should I reply "It's called elephant" or "It's called as elephant"?

答覆

Shade0491

2021年12月4日

英語 (英國)

It’s called an elephant

這個回答有幫到你嗎？

Fly_Beyond_Gattaca

2021年12月4日

中文 (簡體)

@Shade0491 Thx :) So we shouldn't put "as" here?

Also, by saying "an elephant", does that mean you are considering this "elephant" as an individual animal (rather than the name of a genre of animals), or we just have to say "an elephant" to keep it grammartically correct?

Shade0491

2021年12月4日

英語 (英國)

Both. Calling something an elephant means that there is one Cingular elephant. The plural would be “they are called elephants”.

這個回答有幫到你嗎？

Fly_Beyond_Gattaca

2021年12月4日

中文 (簡體)

@Shade0491 I see. For specific human/animal/object(s), the plurality must be taken into consideration.

What if we're talking about an abstract phenomenon? Like "It's called El Nino phenomenon"?