This tag applies to questions that deal with grammatical number: “singular” versus “plural”, and (rarely) also “dual”.
-3
votes
1answer
48 views
When two titles are separated by “and” how do you show “and” isn’t part of the titles? [closed]
When two titles are separated by “and” how do you show “and” isn’t part of the titles? For example, if I'm on a swimming team named Jaguars and a rowing team named Cheetahs how would I remove the ...
1
vote
2answers
51 views
The use of any with plural/singular words
I always thought with "any" I should use the plural, but on the internet I can find both:
It can be found in any book.
It can be found in any books
Do you have any books?
It can be said in any ...
2
votes
1answer
67 views
Why is it “gangster” rather than “gangsters”?
The suspect, along with his two younger siblings, became the most notorious gangster in the district.
The suspect, along with his two younger siblings, became the most notorious gangsters ...
-1
votes
0answers
25 views
Have versus has in terms of 1 out of 3 girls [duplicate]
"1 out of every 4 teenage girls have/has an STD."
Are they interchangeable?
I understand you would say, "1 of the girls has..." However; saying ,"1 of the 4 girls..." , sounds fine with "have" ...
-2
votes
1answer
45 views
Which one is correct — “facades weathering all weathers” or “facade weathering all weathers”? [closed]
On my website banner, I had a sentence that read "Facade finishes weathering all weathers". Somebody suggested to me to change it to "Facades weathering all weathers", stating that when action ...
0
votes
0answers
19 views
“Application suite” plural [closed]
Should it be "Application suite" or "Applications suite" ? Context : in a resume speaking about a project which was composed of 12 applications that together provided a web authentication system? ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
Grand (as in parents) — singular or plural?
In his song "White Wine in the Sun", Tim Minchin sings
I'll be seeing ... my grand and my Mum.
This apparently stands for grandparents, but what is the 'default' visualization of that word ...
1
vote
0answers
7 views
Plural negative [duplicate]
I want to make the sentence
This creature does not possess a liver.
into a plural form. Which of the following is correct?
These creatures do not possess livers,
or
These creatures do not possess ...
2
votes
2answers
34 views
Singular or plural usage for ellipsis in direct object
Suppose I have the following sentences:
There should be an X and a Y chromosome.
There should be an X and a Y chromosomes.
Is the second grammatically correct? If the last word had to be plural for ...
1
vote
0answers
44 views
Where should the apostrophe be for the singular and plural possessive forms of user? [closed]
My understanding of apostrophe usage for possessive forms of the word "user" is this:
Referring to a single user - user's.
Referring to multiple users - users'.
Is this correct? If not, what is? ...
1
vote
2answers
76 views
There is/are for multiple subjects [duplicate]
Which one is correct?
There is an apple and an orange..
or
There are an apple and an orange?"
2
votes
1answer
95 views
Singular/plural possessive form of fish? [closed]
The singular form of fish is fish. The plural form of fish is also fish. What are their possessive forms?
1
vote
3answers
93 views
Plural of “uh-oh” and “oh-no”
Does the plural form of uh-oh and oh-no include an apostrophe? So is it "uh-oh's and oh-no's" or "uh-ohs and oh-nos"?
I've seen it both ways and cannot find a definitive answer anywhere.
0
votes
2answers
53 views
“No restriction” vs. “no restrictions”
The data center must be flexible. There should be no restriction/restrictions on user's choice of protocols.
What should it be?
-2
votes
2answers
68 views
Plural possessive with compound subject [duplicate]
Is it "John and Becky's knowledge" or "John's and Becky's knowledge"?
0
votes
0answers
16 views
A date and time that suit you? [duplicate]
Which of these is correct?
A date and time that suit you
A date and time that suits you
I have always had doubts about this.
-1
votes
2answers
59 views
“Our head” or “our heads”? [closed]
When speaking of a group of people and referring to a body part of which there is only one (e.g. head, nose, mouth, etc.), do we use the singular or plural form? Which of the following is correct, or ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
Plurals in titles of lists regardless of number of items
Not sure how to describe it, so here is an example.
This looks right, even though “tests which failed” has only one item in the list:
Tests which failed
Test #1
Tests which passed
...
0
votes
0answers
76 views
All - singular or plural [closed]
All is well that ends well
All that glitters is not gold.
In these sentences all is meant as singular but actually the word means plural number. I'm confused. Can someone clarify this for ...
1
vote
1answer
91 views
Singular or Plural Before List? [duplicate]
I'm trying to write a list of features available in my product, and I'm confused what the title should be:
Should I say "Features List" (features are plural) or "Feature List" (feature is singular).
...
0
votes
1answer
88 views
use of has been and have been [closed]
I read a sentence which goes like this:
david who is one of such students in the class who _________ working very hard.
could someone let me know what suits the blank the best: has been or have ...
-1
votes
1answer
60 views
“How does two friends” vs. “how do two friends” [closed]
Which of the following is grammatical?
How does two friends become lovers so quickly?
How do two friends become lovers so quickly?
I was thinking does would be the correct choice, am I ...
0
votes
0answers
136 views
“India have won” vs. “India has won” [duplicate]
I would like to know when to use singular or plural verb agreement when talking about a country. E.g.,
India have won the match.
India has won the match.
Which statement is grammatical? ...
0
votes
3answers
200 views
Correct usage of lbs. as in “pounds” of weight
What is the correct way to say:
"All items over 5 lbs. are excluded."
I'm specifically asking about "lbs." or is it "lb."? American English if it matters.
Also is "5lbs." ever correct? Or is it "5 ...
0
votes
1answer
40 views
Pluralization rules for descriptions
Consider a sentence of the following form:
X, and the Y which comes with it, is good.
Assume X and Y are nouns, and X is singular. Should "is" be replaced with "are"? Is there some other ...
0
votes
0answers
37 views
Savings and Costs Verb Treatment
So this has been bothering me for a while in the technical reports that I have been working on. I frequently come across these two sentences:
The energy savings, ES, are estimated to be $100.
and
...
-2
votes
1answer
140 views
“Any” followed by singular or plural countable nouns?
This question has troubled me for ages despite my several attempts of looking it up in dictionaries or usage books. Do we say, "Do you have any ideas" or "Do you have any idea"? I do see an example ...
0
votes
0answers
58 views
How do you express a natural habit of a species?
I am curious to know about the plural/singular form of addressing a species. For example, which expression is correct or more appropriate:
Lion does not eat wolf
Lions do not eat wolves
Or ...
2
votes
1answer
172 views
“1–2 minutes” or “1–2 minute(s)”
If we are using both singular and plural in the same sentence, how do we say or write it?
For example, which one is correct?
one to two minutes
one to two minute(s)
one minute to two minutes
0
votes
1answer
84 views
Which is right: “what pants is he wearing” or “what pants are he wearing”? [duplicate]
Since 'pants' is one of those always plural words, I can't figure out which sounds right.
1
vote
2answers
74 views
grammatical-number when subject and verb are separated by prepositional phrase [duplicate]
Is the following verb selection correct: "None of the 200 hospital patients was discharged today."
4
votes
2answers
79 views
“Copies of documents” vs. “copy of documents”
What is the grammatical difference between "copies of documents" and "copy of documents"?
Same applies to other nouns. Also, an example will be very much appreciated.
0
votes
2answers
153 views
Plural or singular verb for collective term
Should the verb, in the following sentence, be singular or plural?
A series of samples was produced.
In a related question I found a reference. However the text in that reference seems to ...
2
votes
2answers
425 views
Not only X but also Y are (is?)
At first glance, sentence 1 below seems more correct because there are two subjects. However, something seems more natural about sentence 2. Maybe there is something abbreviated, elliptical, or ...
2
votes
1answer
165 views
What is the plural of “stiffness”?
I’m proofreading for a friend (not that I am an expert on English or his subject matter!), and he has used the word stiffnesss in an engineering context.
I believed the plural should be stiffnesses, ...
7
votes
3answers
204 views
Plural or singular when stating that an amount is enough
A colleague of mine corrected the following sentence in a text I had written:
A handful of iterations was generally enough for convergence.
According to her it should be:
A handful of iterations ...
-1
votes
1answer
61 views
How to use “and” “is” “are” with locations [closed]
I am confused with how to use "is" and "are" with locations.
Which is correct?
a)Library and lecture room is crowded.
b)Library and Lecture room are crowded.
0
votes
0answers
112 views
A majority of those whose family or families
Is "family" both plural and singular? or would I have to say families for the plural form. for example, which of these is the best option:
"A majority of those whose family were unaware of their ...
1
vote
1answer
78 views
Is it incorrect to refer to a set of things by using the singular form of the objects it contains? [duplicate]
I'm sorry I couldn't word that better, the following example will hopefully clarify:
As you can see, the teacher refered to the bank of words as "word bank", as opposed to "words bank". Which one ...
2
votes
1answer
135 views
“I have a pair of Google glass”?
How does one state they have a unit of the latest Google Glass glasses, given the way "glasses" is plural but "Glass" as in Google Glass, is not?
0
votes
2answers
78 views
Can “progeny” take the plural form?
There were things his grandchildren, in turn, should know. Yet he hesitated. How do you tell your children they are progenies of the self-proclaimed inventor of Manhattan clam chowder? (The New ...
32
votes
2answers
4k views
If the plural of ‘man’ is ‘men,’ shouldn’t the plural of ‘German’ be ‘Germen’?
What makes these two words so different that 'man' is changed to 'men', but 'German' is changed to 'Germans'?
3
votes
2answers
69 views
Is a range of dates singular or plural?
Given a sentence such as, "May 17-19 (is/are) available for our meeting," is it best to treat the "May 17-19" as a singular range or a plural number of dates?
2
votes
1answer
125 views
“Goose”–“geese” vs,. “moose”–“moose”
Why is it that the plural of one goose is geese but the plural of moose is moose? Same goes for house and louse. The plurals are houses and lice, respectively.
3
votes
2answers
145 views
When ordering coffee, do you say “two milks” or “two milk”?
I've already searched the site if this question had been asked before however I didn't find anything related to my question. Every time I order coffee some people sort of correct me by saying 2 milks ...
0
votes
1answer
262 views
How to pronounce the final “s” in plural nouns
Could you please help find which word below is pronounced differently from the rest with regard to the final s?
caves
marks
exams
days
I choose number 2, marks.
9
votes
4answers
664 views
Can I use the word “milks” when discussing KINDS of milk
Heard at the cafe: "We have three milks: soy, almond, and cow."
Is it ok to use the word "milks" in this context? I've heard it in other uncountable nouns, like "essential oils", or "simple sugars", ...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
Apostrophe Usage with Arkansas [duplicate]
Currently, we are having an issue at work where we may not be able to tack on apostrophes to words programmatically, in order to make them possessive, because of certain edge cases; such as Arkansas' ...
0
votes
1answer
63 views
“[adjective] and [adjective] [noun]” — Should the noun be singular or plural?
In a scientific paper I submitted, a reviewer suggested that I change the sentence
The operation just substitutes "(m, l)" with "m" on both the sender and the receiver side.
to
The operation ...
-3
votes
1answer
101 views
“One blue ball and one red ball is” or “are”? [duplicate]
Which is correct?
One blue ball and one red ball is preferred.
One blue ball and one red ball are preferred.
