A few weeks ago, in "Some Nouns Have Too Many Plurals," I wrote about a number of singular nouns that have multiple plural forms. One word I left off that list is person, which, when you focus on its plurals, presents a few unusual considerations. These days, the standard plural of person is … [Read more...]
Some Nouns Have Too Many Plurals
Forming regular plural nouns in English is a pretty simple concept, but that's where the simplicity ends. English has so many different irregular plurals — and so many different types! There are plurals that are identical to their singular versions (sheep: sheep), plurals that change for count and … [Read more...]
What’s the Plural of Mentos (and Other Trade Names)?
Yesterday on Twitter, copyeditor Ashley Bischoff was publicly pondering the singular and plural forms of the yummy candy Mentos. Would she eat one Mento from a roll of Mentos? Or would it be one Mentos from a roll of Mentoses (or even Mentosi)? Or is the word Mentos like deer and moose, both … [Read more...]
Opera, English Morphology, and a Cribhouse Whore
Book reviewer and all-around sci-fi geek James Nicoll once wrote, The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious … [Read more...]
Plural Problems in the Animal World
When children are learning the idiosyncrasies of the English language, they can get tripped up by some of the different ways singular nouns become plural. This is especially true when they're learning about the animal world. Why don't we add an S to make deer and sheep plural? If it's one goose and … [Read more...]