he told a meeting...

[羡鱼-Xianyu]

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi dismissed calls to resign on Tuesday over reports he helped a 17-year-old girl who attended parties at his house, saying it was "better to like beautiful girls than to be gay." He refused to apologise for his fondness for young women and denied doing anything improper, after the case of the girl known as Ruby filled Italian newspapers last week and opposition lawmakers called for him to resign. "As always, I work without interruption and if occasionally I happen to look a beautiful girl in the face, it's better to like beautiful girls than to be gay," he told a meeting at a motorcycle industry show in Milan. "You should be completely reassured about the government and about the fact that it's a government that still has a majority that intends to govern until the end of its term," he said.

Hi, everybody!
1. Why 'to be gay' not 'to be a gay' or 'to be gays'?

2. What does 'he told a meeting' mean?

Thanks in advance!

Xianyu

 

[Munch]

1. Why 'to be gay' not 'to be a gay' or 'to be gays'?

2. What does 'he told a meeting' mean?

Thanks in advance!

Xianyu

1. Because “gay” is an adjective, not a noun.
2. It means he spoke at a meeting and the other people listened to him. In English we can tell one person something, or we can tell a group of people something.

 

[羡鱼-Xianyu]

1. Because “gay” is an adjective, not a noun.
2. It means he spoke at a meeting and the other people listened to him. In English we can tell one person something, or we can tell a group of people something.

Munch, thank you so much! I've got it.