Questions tagged [grammatical-number]
This tag applies to questions that deal with grammatical number: “singular” versus “plural”, and (rarely) also “dual”.
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"XXXX it is, then" with plural nouns?
Is it possible to use "... it is, then" with plural nouns?
Example:
"Apples or pears?"
"Apples."
"Apples it is, then."
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1
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Copies of or a copy of? [closed]
Would you say, "I sent him copies of the motion and the letter," or would you say, "I sent him a copy of the motion and the letter"?
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Why does 'scent' here use the singular form?
Flowers are chosen for their scent as well as their look.
In the above sentence, since these are countable nouns, shouldn't it say 'scents' and 'looks' instead of 'scent' and 'look'?
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3
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Comparing a plural noun with a singular noun: "They [do something] like a bat"
The narrator in this video has a very clear native English accent. What caught my attention is near the end of the clip when he said:
They spend so much time in the tree and they sleep while hanging ...
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2
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Which of these sentences is correct and why? "My favorite food is/are hamburger(s)" [duplicate]
My favorite food is hamburgers.
My favorite food are hamburgers.
My favorite food is hamburger.
As a native speaker, I know instinctively that number 1 is correct but I'm finding it difficult to ...
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Is there anything wrong with the sentence "Donuts are not a part of healthy eating"?
The sentence in question is:
Donuts are not a part of healthy eating.
I'm debating between the following:
Nothing wrong
Donuts are not part of healthy eating (because "donuts" is plural, ...
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0
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"unit and quantity abstractions" vs "units and quantities abstractions" [duplicate]
As a non-native speaker I currently have a doubt about something. I am writing a technical note about units of measurements (kilogram, meter, second...) and physical quantities (mass, length, time) ...
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"Teams members" or "Team members" (considering we are talking about 2 teams)?
In the context of we having 2 Teams: team 1, and team 2. I want to refer to the members of all the teams we have. Should I say "Teams members" or do I still have to use the singular of "...
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Is the word Physics singular? [closed]
Is the word Physics singular or plural? Should we write "Physics considers" or "Physics consider"?
user486324
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3
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How did "oxen" (plural of "ox") survive as the only plural form with the Old English plural ending -en?
Oxen is a rare exception in English where it is the only common English word that retains the original Old English plural ending -en. (Note: Children and brethren are formed a bit differently, please ...
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Why is it "the Passion of Christ" and not "the Passions of Christ"?
I see that Google gives much more hits for The Passion of Christ (singular) than for the plural Passions, which in part is due to the movie of Mel Gibson with the same title.
I also see that ...
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Which of the following phrases is correct and why? "...what the rest of the sentences is/are." [closed]
I would like to know what the rest of the sentences is.
I would like to know what the rest of the sentences are.
Can they both be correct depending on the context?
The meaning I am aiming for is that ...
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A question about grammar. MS Outlook grammar correction for "equipment register" [closed]
Outlook is questioning "equipment register" and asking me to double check if I am using singular or plural (error underline on the word register). This has me really confused and I can't ...
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Indefinite article "a" in an exclamation, in plural case; is it acceptable? [closed]
I am curious. There is a common exclamation "what a liar!". But how should it be in plural case?
What liars!?
What a liars!?
The former looks a bit confusing because it sounds like a ...
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0
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Collective nouns - singular or plural in context? [duplicate]
It seems correct to write "A host of tools exists..." or "A range of tools exists...", i.e. the verb reflects the fact that you are referring to one collective noun.
But, if I want ...
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Why do these two situations allow a noun to be singular and plural? [duplicate]
Examples:
"Two miles is too far to walk" vs "There are two miles"
In the first situation, the noun is seen as singular, while the noun is seen as plural in the second situation. ...
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1
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Multiple plurals of the word "die"
I see that the Oxford dictionary has a plural dice for "a small cube with a different number of spots on each of its sides, used in games of chance". However, there is no plural listed for &...
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Generic "a man" versus plural "men" in English
In English, is there any difference between the following two?
A man never enjoys his authority being questioned.
Men never enjoy their authority being questioned.
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Question regarding the expression ¨One kind of + [plural noun].¨ [closed]
Which one is correct?
There is only one kind of sunglasses, and it´s small.
There is only one kind of sunglasses, and they are small.
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What is the plural form of Boa Constrictor? [closed]
My friend said that it is 'boae constrictor' since 'boa' is in Latin. But I told him that first of all, it would be more correct as 'boae constrictor(s)', but the actual correct form is 'boa ...
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“On their part” or “on their parts”?
They took credit with no contribution on their part/parts.
Should ‘part’ be singular or plural?
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Why "factor" is not plural in "two-factor authentication?" [duplicate]
In Information Technology, we often see something that looks like a compound adjective, pairing a number and a noum. Some examples are two-factor authentication, two-step verification and twelve-...
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"Both" followed by two things, one of them being a plural
"Both" is used to talk about two things (and not more), but what if one of these things is itself a plural? For instance:
Both the children and the teacher were unhappy about the situation.
...
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Each other’s nose or each other’s noses?
Should it be singular or plural after “each other’s” here.
They touched each other’s nose.
They touched each other’s noses.
Are both correct?
John Lawler notes in another post that each other can ...
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0
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How (in what number) do I use verbs with the single-person gender-neutral "they"? [duplicate]
A transgender colleague requires being referred to as "they" and not "he /she" In what number do I use verbs with this pronoun when it refers to a single person: they is/ are(?) ...
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"Do" vs. "does" with both singular and plural subjects [duplicate]
I know multiple singular subjects have been addressed here and singular compound subjects here. However, I came across a sentence with multiple subjects, one single paired with one plural. I could not ...
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How many robes is Dumbledore wearing in this passage from Harry Potter? [closed]
How many robes is Dumbledore wearing in this passage from Harry Potter?
Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair ...
user480433
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Company name that is a plural noun, what's the correct verb agreement? [duplicate]
Imagine a company called Spicy Labs. A fictional company where you can go online and create and order custom spice mixes. On their website, which tagline would be correct:
"Spicy Labs lets you ...
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Is it remains unchanged or remain unchanged in a conjunction sentence?
I'm writing a bullet point in a presentation. I want to say:
Our partner and customer commitment remains unchanged.
However, it feels like it reads better if I change it to:
Our partner and ...
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1
answer
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Singular and Plurals in Academic Research
In academic/scientific research, should I use the names of fruits in the singular or plural? For example:
There was a significant increase in the frequency of sweet potato consumption (+18.8%), eggs (...
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What was more frequent in Early Modern English: "How many a man who was ..." or "How many men who were ..."?
In A Plea for Captain John Brown, Thoreau writes:
How many a man who was lately contemplating suicide has now something to live for!
Phrases ... many countable-noun-in-plural ..., e.g. How many men ...
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Is "Being rich and being famous" singular or plural? [duplicate]
Being rich and famous certainly has/have some advantages.
Being rich and being famous certainly has/have some advantages.
Being enormous and being made of rare materials is/are why this throne is so ...
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A traffic light (1 "light" composed of 3 lights) or A SET of traffic lights (3 lights considered individually)?
Which is idiomatic in British and American English, when talking about a single post that contains 3 lights, red, yellow and green? A traffic light or A SET of traffic lights?
Dictionaries seem ...
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What is the name of this rhetorical device: Using the plural of a proper name (or even proper noun) to generalize?
I hear this a great deal from sportscasters:
Crowds will pay to see the Ohtanis and Trouts...
Making a plural out of a person's name seems to create a general form, almost as one had said,
Crowds ...
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2
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Singular vs plural after "One example of such"
In sentences like "One example of such X is Y" should X be singular, plural or can it be either?
For example:
Some methods are {description of this group of methods}.
One example of such ...
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"Why are there both a somethingA and a somethingB?" vs "Why is there both a somethingA and a somethingB?"
"Why are there both a somethingA and a somethingB?" vs "Why is there both a somethingA and a somethingB?"
What are their differences in usage, meaning and historical prevalence?
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“A number of people were affected…” shouldn't the verb be singular? [duplicate]
Nouns that are "collective" (automatically suggesting a group) take a plural verb when the group as a whole is meant; they take a singular verb when the group can be thought of as individual ...
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What explains the restrictions on determinative "you"?
As Huddleston & Pullum note, "you" can sometimes be used as a determiner:
You idiots never learn.
I'll never understand you idiots.
But this generally can't occur in the singular:
*...
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Why is a plural noun followed by present participle incorrect? [duplicate]
Discussing what they do to earn extra cash, a friend told me: "I get paid for dogs walking." I think they should use the singular, "I get paid for dog walking". My friend replied,...
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Should phrases for amounts/quantities be singular or plural? [duplicate]
Here's a quote from the TV show Silicon Valley
Yeah, but that 10 minutes is just incredible.
I think I've also heard someone somewhere said something to the effect of "5 minutes is a long time.&...
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A list of adjectives defining different objects from a group. Singular or plural noun and verb?
Let's say we have a set of four balls called: the red ball, the blue ball, the green ball, the yellow ball. Each ball can be either made of wood or made of iron.
If I want to say that the first three ...
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Is there a plural 's' on "phase" in "... apply to both the first and the second phase[s] of the ..."?
I'm currently writing this in a document:
Attributes of a clean build:
it has no warnings
it uses the highest warning level
it treats warnings as errors
They apply to both the compilation and the ...
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2
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Yourself vs. yourselves when speaking to individuals in a group
What you should expect from yourselves and each other
This phrase is spoken to a group of people, but to each person individually. Particularly because it includes "and each other," it ...
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Spine or spines?
I would like to know which of the following sentences is correct:
His thoracic and lumbar spine were severely deformed.
His thoracic and lumbar spines were severely deformed.
I'm not sure whether I ...
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1
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Girls is or are? (from the song Players by Coi Leray)
So you know the trendy song "Players" by Coi Leray. I got confused when I sang her song because I'm not sure if her grammar was correct.
I just want to confirm that when referring to a group ...
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"name of team members" or "names of team members"? [duplicate]
Should I write "Please send me the name of team members" or "Please send me the names of team members"?
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Knowing it should be "Tag Manager" and not "Tags Manager", is it too bad to still name it "Tags Manager"? [duplicate]
Ok, so now that thanks to some of you I know the correct way to name a tool like this would be effectible "Tag Manager" and not "Tags Manager" due to "Tag" acts as an ...
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When referring to multiple pieces of art, should I use the plural or singular form of "commission"?
If someone commissioned an artist to draw more than one picture for them, should those pictures be collectively referred to as one "commission", or should they be called "commissions&...
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When is it appropriate to break subject and verb agreement, conjugating the verb as singular when the subject is plural? [closed]
I have seen this phenomenon happen in several Youtube videos about aviation crashes in the channel Mentour Pilot. For instance, in this video (timestamp 18:26):
A hundred and one passengers and crew ...
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Pluralizing a first name
In a social media post, a movie streaming site referred to multiple actresses with the same first name of “Jennifer” without repeating the name each time. Instead, they pluralized Jennifer and the ...
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