All Questions
Tagged with silent-letters grammatical-number
11 questions
5
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Why is the plural form of piano "pianos" and not "pianoes"?
The rule says that if a singular noun ends in consonant + "o" then the plural form will be consonant + "oes".
e.g. tomato => tomatoes.
Then, why this rule does not apply to piano?
- 169
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0
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What is the parenthetical plural of "baby"? [duplicate]
A letter home from daycare may be sensitive to the fact that some children have a single parent like this:
Dear Parent(s),
And if that same letter home wanted to be sensitive to the fact that I ...
- 173
4
votes
1
answer
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Is it "policy(ies)" or policy(s)" for an optional, parenthetical plural suffix? [duplicate]
When writing a noun that shows a parenthetical plural suffix option, which is acceptable, "policy(ies)" or policy(s)"?
- 41
1
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1
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Entry(s) or Entrie(s)? [duplicate]
Sometimes you come across this format suggesting 'one or more', in not as many words, like "Please select the book(s) you wish to loan". But what happens in that case of plurals that don't follow the ...
- 501
2
votes
0
answers
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Parenthetical plurals of nouns with stems that are written differently in singular and plural [duplicate]
Related Question that I don't like the answer to because it conflicts with my industry's standards (see bottom of post).
Edit: I asked a new question because I'm looking for an answer, not an ...
- 133
38
votes
2
answers
30k
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What is the optional plural form of a word that ends in “‑y”?
I guess “optional plural” is the correct term. I’m referring to things like
It can be found at the following location(s).
Please pick up your ticket(s).
But how do I do that to a word that ends in&...
- 495
10
votes
2
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Is it correct to put "bros" before "hos" or before "hoes"?
I'm wondering about the pluralisation of "ho" (as in slang for prostitute) in the phrase "Bros before ho(e)s". To me, hos makes sense because it's consistent with bros. Hoes could also refer to a ...
- 353
33
votes
5
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52k
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Parenthetical pluralization of words ending in '-y' [duplicate]
Sentences constructed with a word written in the singular and parenthetically in the plural are straightforward when that word does not end in -y, e.g.:
List all applicable employee(s).
How does ...
- 445
14
votes
5
answers
19k
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Is there a good rule of thumb for plurals of words ending in "o"?
The following words and their plurals seem to be somewhat inconsistent:
combo / combos
concerto / concertos
grotto / grottos / grottoes (?)
hero / heros (?) / heroes
potato / potatos (?) / potatoes
...
- 35.9k
172
votes
4
answers
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What is the plural form of "zero"?
I tried looking on Google, but there are some fairly contradictory results.
I thought I'd ask you guys so we could get an authoritative answer on the subject!
- 1,841
12
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2
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When should a singular word ending in "y" end in "ies" plurally?
Words like "sky" and "money" have "ies" as a plural suffix (i.e. "skies" and "monies") but other words like "monkey" and "Emmy" do not ("monkeys" and "Emmys"). Is there a rule dictating the use of "...
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