This tag applies to questions that deal with grammatical number: “singular” versus “plural”, and (rarely) also “dual”.
14
votes
2answers
519 views
Why don't we use the indefinite article with 'software'?
Generally, one doesn't use the indefinite article with a noun because it's plural, but sometimes you get nouns where, for some reason, the indefinite article isn't used even though the noun is ...
14
votes
2answers
988 views
“People” or “peoples” when referring to an indigenous population?
Let's say we are talking about the indigenous pukapuka who live in Pluto.
What is correct: "the pukapuka people" or "the pukapuka peoples"?
I've read somewhere the usage of "peoples" in this ...
14
votes
2answers
7k views
“Content” or “Contents”?
Content or contents — when do I use which form?
I realize that the one is the plural form of the other, but they seem to be used interchangeably.
13
votes
4answers
6k views
Is “staff” plural?
Which one of these two statements is correct?
Our staff do ...
Our staff does ...
Is staffs correct?
13
votes
5answers
872 views
Should nouns borrowed from Japanese be pluralized?
As someone who has watched a lot of subtitled Japanese animation, it seems odd to hear a word such as ninja (used in the plural) in the dialogue and see it transliterated as ninjas.
It somehow seems ...
13
votes
3answers
2k views
Why is the plural form of “life” “lives”, while the plural form of “still life” is “still lifes”?
Why does the plural form of "life" is "lives", while the plural form of "still life" is "still lifes"?
From Wikipedia:
A still life (plural still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly
...
13
votes
2answers
720 views
Family name pluralization
When pluralizing family (last) names that also happen to be common English words, does the pluralization follow the same rules as the common word?
For example, "the Smith family" can be pluralized as ...
13
votes
3answers
2k views
“Cannon” as plural
I'm reading a novel based in ye olde pirate-times, and I have come across the author's usage of "cannon" (without the "s") to refer to multiple cannons.
The ship boasted 32 cannon onboard.
Is ...
13
votes
4answers
391 views
When do I use -i for expressing the plural of a word?
I've never been certain of the rules surrounding the use of the -i suffix for pluralizing a word. I had thought that it was used for any word whose singular ended in an 's', but that doesn't appear to ...
13
votes
3answers
4k views
Is there a term for words that have identical singular and plural forms?
Is there a term for nouns that have identical singular and plural forms? For example,
sheep
fish
glasses
aircraft/spacecraft
etc.
13
votes
1answer
3k views
Politics: singular or plural?
Which is correct, "politics is out of scope" or "politics are out of scope?"
12
votes
4answers
572 views
Why did they spell it “URL’s”?
I was reading this documentation file of some software and note the plural spelling of this abbreviation is “URL’s”. Why isn’t it “URLs”?
12
votes
3answers
1k views
Why is the plural acronym “CSS” treated as singular?
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets, which is a plural phrase. One would say:
Cascading Style Sheets are used to provide a central location for all of the stylings of a project.
However, it ...
12
votes
4answers
3k views
What is the proper plural of the word “freshman”?
Would it be proper to say freshman students, freshmen, or freshmen students?
Edit:
It is worth noting that I have since learned it is more acceptable in educational circles to use the term ...
12
votes
3answers
569 views
How to treat a country name that has a plural meaning
I was wondering if there was a sentence that contains a country name (or generally a proper noun) that has a plural word in it - e.g., the United States or The United Emirates - how do we treat it? ...
12
votes
5answers
19k views
Is “there're” (similar to “there's”) a correct contraction?
Q: "Do you have any juice?"
A: "Yes, there's some in the fridge."
Sounds perfectly fine to me, but:
Q: "Do you have any towels?"
A: "Yes, there's some in the closet."
Does not.
I asked ...
12
votes
5answers
12k views
Is using “fruits” as the plural of “fruit” acceptable?
I've always understood the plural of fruit to be fruit, not fruits.
I was looking at some marketing material and they used the word "fruits" in the following context:
A unique infusion made with ...
12
votes
2answers
784 views
How to indicate possession by e.g. passers-by, mothers-in-law
I'm quite fond of internal pluralisation, such as passers-by, mothers-in-law, or even Chambers of Commerce.
However, I've recently realised that I've no idea how to indicate possession in such a ...
11
votes
4answers
2k views
Is “criterions” a valid plural for “criterion”?
Is criterions a valid plural for criterion?
Dictionary.com says it is, but Oxford does not confirm or reject it.
11
votes
7answers
889 views
What is the plural form of “iPad 2”?
With the introduction of the iPad 2, I find myself hesitating when trying to refer to several of them. Is it iPads 2 or iPad 2's?
11
votes
4answers
6k views
There are no comments / There is no comment
Which is correct?
* "There are no comments."
* "There is no comment."
Which would you use for a web application, i.e. what to display when a blog post or an article has no comment attached?
...
11
votes
3answers
10k views
Is “everyone” singular or plural?
Which is correct?
Everyone were convinced that he would go to the game.
Everyone was convinced that he would go to the game.
I think it's "was", because "everyone" is singular, but I just ...
11
votes
2answers
504 views
Why is it that score is used in singular when referring to several groups of 20?
If I'm not mistaken, score can mean "a group or set twenty".
What I don't understand is why you say for example "Four score and seven years ago...", instead of saying "four scores" (since there are ...
11
votes
3answers
3k views
What's the correct plural form of “premise”?
Someone criticized me for using the word "premises" to denote a set of assumed "propositions", due to its connotation with houses and buildings.
Is that correct? If so, what should be the proper ...
11
votes
6answers
1k views
“None” as plural indefinite pronoun
In my grammar book (English Grammar, HarperCollins Publishers), I read that none is occasionally treated as plural, but it is usually regarded as singular. Can you give me an example of sentence where ...
11
votes
3answers
281 views
Difference in usage of “rock” and “rocks”
Recently, I came across this situation where I was asked which one was correct:
Fossils are found in sedimentary rock.
Fossils are found in sedimentary rocks.
Is there is distinction ...
11
votes
3answers
3k views
“There are a couple of apples” or “there is a couple of apples”?
You have only one couple of apples, so it's singular.
There are multiple apples, so it's plural.
Which one is right, "there are a couple of apples" or "there is a couple of apples"? I have seen both ...
11
votes
4answers
570 views
Why is there no consistency in the plural forms of words ending on an “f” (e.g. safe, roof, dwarf, etc.)?
The plural form of leaf is leaves, although according to Merriam-Webster leafs is also correct. Dwarf can be pluralized as either dwarfs or dwarves. Conversely, the words roof and safe are pluralized ...
11
votes
2answers
677 views
Is 'couple' ever used in the sense of 'some'?
Is the usage of the word couple (as in, "I want to ask a couple of questions...") to mean 'some' or 'few' correct (as in, interpreting given example to mean "I want to ask a few questions")?
As a ...
11
votes
5answers
625 views
What does Maugham mean by “his spaghetti were”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Was the usage "Spaghetti were" ever acceptable or common?
[Following up from, but not a duplicate of, this question by another user, which was unresolved…]
...
11
votes
1answer
569 views
Why is “f” in a singular replaced with “v” in its plural?
For example, "wife" is "wives" in plural, as is knife, strife, etc. What's the reason and/or etymology behind this?
10
votes
6answers
2k views
Why do some people pedantically cling to dying word forms (e.g. die, oxen)?
The only times I have ever heard the word "die" to refer to one dice are from my mother, and from my primary school English teacher. Every person I ever hear always says, "give me a dice" if they want ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
“Was” or “were” for “half a dozen”
In Microsoft Word, the following sentence is flagged. It tells me to use "was" instead of "were"
There were half a dozen books strewn about the floor.
I would think that you would use "were" ...
10
votes
5answers
4k views
Is “audience” singular or plural?
I want to use 'audience' in the following sentence. In what form should I use it? Is it a singular or plural noun?
How the audience demotivate players in the NBA.
How the audience demotivates ...
10
votes
1answer
2k views
Why is walri not the correct pluralization of walrus?
Why is walri not the correct pluralization of walrus?
10
votes
4answers
557 views
“User accounts” or “users account”
Is it correct to say user accounts or users account when referring to the accounts any user has on a site like this one?
In general, in the case of a noun that is used as adjective for the noun that ...
10
votes
4answers
772 views
Why do we use plural when we say “blow someone's brains out”?
My simplistic thinking is that each person has one brain, so why do we say "blow someone's brains out"?
10
votes
6answers
468 views
When is it correct to not use the irregular form for a plural? e.g. mouses vs. mice
I seem to recall that an English teacher somewhere along the course of my education had indicated that when referencing distinct types of a word, e.g. a computer mouse and the mammal, it would be ...
10
votes
3answers
5k views
Is “each and every one of you” singular or plural?
Is each and every one of you singular or plural? I searched this subject and found a similar post here but I just want to confirm.
10
votes
6answers
619 views
More than 1000 gallons of paint is/are sold each day [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Plural/singular verb agreement with units
Does modifying a collective noun with a number make the subject plural?
Can anyone help me determine the correct verb in this ...
10
votes
7answers
3k views
“For both our sake” or “for both our sakes”
Should sake be pluralized in this usage?
For both our sake, I'm going to leave now.
For both our sakes, I'm going to leave now.
10
votes
2answers
668 views
How should I pluralise “as is”?
Let’s say I write: “Just send me these documents as is”. Is that correct? Should it be pluralised into “as are”, which sounds so wrong to me? Or are they both incorrect, in which case I may write “as ...
10
votes
2answers
550 views
If I can say “videos”, can I also say “audios”?
Audio and video seem to me very similar words by usage. I often hear the plural form for video, but is there a plural form for audio? Can I say audios? I've never heard it being used.
10
votes
3answers
336 views
Is there any common context for “enoughs”?
I noticed today that ENOUGHS is valid in Scrabble(tm), and I realize "enough" can be used as a noun ("I've had enough!"), but I'm unaware of any context where one might use its plural. Perhaps it's ...
10
votes
3answers
499 views
X, along with Y, 'were'/'was'
I was interested in the following sentence which appeared in a brief Tom Daschle's biography in The Washington Post, Politics, (WHO RUNS GOV).
She, along with Mark Childress, were set to be ...
10
votes
1answer
927 views
“The news is good.” Why?
We use "the news is good" instead of "the news are good."
What is the rationale behind this? Are there similar situations in English?
10
votes
1answer
1k views
Is it common for place names to lose their possessive apostrophe?
On a road trip, my wife and I drove by Kings Dominion. We debated whether this should in actuality be King’s Dominion. It seemed that it ought to be possessive, or possibly plural possessive.
Upon ...
10
votes
2answers
648 views
Where did the singular “innings” come from?
In baseball, an inning is a team's (or both teams', depending on context) turn to bat. A game consists of 9 innings. In cricket, an innings is a team's turn to bat, a game consists of 2 or 4 ...
10
votes
2answers
2k views
Should it be folk or folks?
As a British native English speaker I have only ever used the word "folk" as an adjective in phrases such as "folk music" or "folk tales". My unscientific impression is that its use as a synonym for ...
10
votes
2answers
352 views
Indefinite article in the “An [adjective] [number] [plural noun]” construction
I wasn't sure how best to phrase the title of this question.
I'm interested in constructions of the following form:
An estimated 50 people died in the bombing.
'An estimated' could be ...
