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I am wondering which one is correct or when/where one should use them:

  1. As matters of facts, A did X and B did Y.
  2. As matters of fact, A did X and B did Y.
  3. As matter of facts, A did X and B did Y.

I personally think that number 2 makes more sense, since fact can be a collective term encompassing a body of things and ideas, which in this example, includes two constituent matters. However, I am not sure.

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  • Have you seen any of those constructions used anywhere else? Why do you think the set phrase "As a matter of fact..." needs adjustment?
    – ColleenV
    Commented Feb 8, 2021 at 21:17
  • @ColleenV Hello Colleen, I felt like " as a matter of fact" should not be followed by two examples. I also searched the google books and found quite a few instances.
    – Cardinal
    Commented Feb 8, 2021 at 21:21
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    @Cardinal But "as a matter of fact" is just a stock phrase; it does not refer to specific facts. It just means something like "This is actually true." Can you list some of the instances you found?
    – stangdon
    Commented Feb 9, 2021 at 2:09
  • @stangdon google.com/…
    – Cardinal
    Commented Feb 9, 2021 at 3:19
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    All the examples you have found are constructions like "A and B are regarded as matters of fact" (things that are true). We don't use the plural when the phrase precedes a statement. Here, it means something like "It's true to say that..."
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Feb 9, 2021 at 9:26

2 Answers 2

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Normally we use both in the singular, "as a matter of fact". Even if you then cite two facts. If you're citing them together, presumably they are related, so it is one "matter". Like if I said, "No, George deserves the credit. As a matter of fact, it was George's idea, Fred contributed very little", yes, there are two facts -- "it was George's idea" and "Fred contributed very little" -- but both relate to the same subject, who deserves the credit, so it's one matter.

We're using "fact" here as a collective noun, not referring to individual facts. Like suppose I said, "As a question of law, kidnapping is a more serious crime than assault". I'm referring to at least two laws, those against kidnapping and those against assault, but the phrase "of law" is referring to "the law" as a collective thing, not an individual law or laws.

I suppose the idiom could be strained if you brought up two completely unrelated subjects. Like suppose you said, "As a matter[s?] of fact[s?], Rome is the capital of Italy and the square root of 16 is 4". Is this one matter or two matters? But if you're not making any connection whatsoever between the two statements, why are you combining them in one sentence? Even if the only relation is that they were both questions you heard on a game show or something of the sort, well then, they have a connection.

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In almost all cases you would say "As a matter of fact." Here the word "matter" refers to a single question: what did A and B do. Since this is only one question, it is singular. It is a factual question, a question of fact. The possible complexity of the answer does not make it plural.

In very particular circumstances you might need to say "matters of fact". Generally this is when discussing legal actions or theory. For example we could say: "There are matters of fact and there are matters of law." Here we are talking about many questions, so it is proper to use the plural.

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  • Thank you for your answer; yes, I was thinking of using this (the plural form of it) phrase in an academic or scientific piece of writing.
    – Cardinal
    Commented Feb 8, 2021 at 21:34

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