Questions tagged [plural-forms]
For questions which a dictionary cannot answer about the plural form(s) of a word.
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It promises to be an exciting few days
It promises to be an exciting few days.
The sentence above is combined with an+ exciting + few days
Is this sentence idiomatic or wrong in grammar?
What about this version: It promises to be exciting ...
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plot vs plots for comparison
Hamlet and Macbeth are very much alike in their plot.
Should plot be replaced with plots? I think so. Because there are two plots: the plot of Hamlet and the plot of Macbeth, so plural, right?
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Singular noun as a concept for generalisation
I have recently came across two sentences that feature the usage of singular nouns to generalise the statement as they follow.
"The presence of the gene predisposes a person to heart disease&...
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Use of the article before a plural name
When I write in English I have frequently the following doubt.
The following sentence use the singular form:
Now the code executes the following instruction: ...
In the previous sentence I have ...
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In the sentence "She says she has no friends," the number of friends is zero, why is "friends" still plural?
In the sentence
"She says she has no friends"
even though the number of friends is zero (less than two), why is "friends" still plural?
I learnt the rule that if a countable noun ...
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Someone calls or someone call
I read that someone is used with singular verb but l come across with this example :
Someone call an ambulance.
Is it correct? It shouldn't be "someone calls an ambulance"?!
Or in another ...
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"The furniture items placed in guest rooms include a sofa, writing table, cupboard, luggage rack"— Can I use "furniture" instead of "furniture items"?
books.google.ru:
(1) The furniture items placed in guest rooms include a sofa, writing table, cupboard, luggage rack etc.
I wonder if I can use just "furniture" here instead of "...
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Is the sentence "Each of my brothers wants his own car" correct?
Each of my brothers wants his own car
I already know that each is always paired with singular but is the usage of "his" correct? Should it be "their" or "it"?
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plurals with and without a definite article in a relative clause
My understanding of plurals with and without a definite article in a relative clause is given:
tribes: all tribes
the tribes: Some specific set of tribes
But the following sentences confuse me:
He ...
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Those students want to become a teacher/teachers. - are both of them acceptable? [closed]
Example 1
Those students want to become a teacher.
Example 2
Those students want to become teachers.
Are both correct? Do they mean the same?
Example 1 may sound a little bit unnatural but I have ...
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I can't fix those cars/any one of those cars - do they mean the same?
Example 1
I can't beat those young guys.
Does this mean I can't beat even one of those young guys? Or does it mean I can't beat them as a whole but can probably take care of one or two?
Example 2
I ...
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Difference in meaning of a paragraph when using plural vs. using singular nouns
Consider the following two paragraphs where one uses "the pen" and "pens" in different ways:
"Reed pens were used extensively until the development of the quill pen in 600AD. ...
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Plurals of two concepts expressed by two word whose second word is the same (i.e. Thermal and Ductile damage)
This is my first query.
I have a doubt for the following sentence:
Thermal and ductile damage depend
Microsoft office is always highlighting it as a mistake as it consider it a singular. This is a ...
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seen you more than my last two husbands
a. I have seen you more than my last two husbands.
Does that mean
I have seen you more than my last two husbands combined.
or
I have seen you more than either of my last two husbands.
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Proper genitive on a names with pre-existing genitive as a name
I have a special case that I can't tell how to cover using the generally googlable rules.
There was a person called Thyrén. He created a company and named it after himself. Now, that's been done long ...
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Use plural of singular when referring to plural thing being the superlative of something
I have a sentence that requires a form of "to be" referring to something in singular and plural at the same time:
The major source for pharmaceutical residues in rivers [is/are] wastewater ...
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Why is the plural of "root locus" (in robotics) "root loci", when, in Latin, the plural of "locus" (place) is "loca"?
I've been reading about robotics in English recently, and I've seen quite a few times that the plural of "root locus" is "root loci". Why is that? In Latin, the plural of "...
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How to use "be : was or were " for as if/as though ( the unreal information in the present)
For As if/As though, if the sentence expresses the information which is unreal in the present, we use "past subjunctive" and to be : were for all the subjects? Is it correct or incorrect?
...
user81242
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Is it 10 lessons class, or 10 lesson classes? [duplicate]
When there are 2 nouns in the sentence continuously. It's hard to determine where to put the 's'. Is there a standard rule anyone can share with us. So that we can be sure next time.
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A lot of people take taxi to visit relatives and friends' houses
It's always confusing when 2 nouns join together, and there's another noun before it. Which noun shall we put the "s", for the plural form, or both?
A lot of people take taxi to visit ...
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Is there any exception in the rule of making plural nouns ending with "consonant+y"?
I know nouns end with "consonant+y" becomes "consonant+ies" like "city" becomes "cities" when we make plural forms.
Is there any exception like "piano"...
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Visualization vs. visualizations
I have the following sentence:
Create an interactive web-based data visualization using Python.
I'm wondering what is the correct way to write this sentence in the plural, since visualization is ...
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Is "All the animation was done with computers" correct?
"All the animation was done with computers."
I have two problems:
1- why does animation is singular? They referred to "All of them(animation)", so didn't they say animations.
2- it'...
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Why didn't we pluralize the abbreviated form in the sentence below in spite of the non-abbreviated form being pluralized?
Of the nine traction power sub-stations (TPSS), five shall be equipped with four DC feeders and four shall be equipped with six DC feeders.
the above sentence is an example in the book ' Writing in ...
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What's the plural form of hook and eye? [closed]
What's the plural form of 'hook and eye'? Is it 'hooks and eyes' or 'hook and eyes'?
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Can "logics" be used, in plural form?
Various native speakers have flagged that using "logics" is not correct because "logic" is uncountable. I have conducted some research and have found very few instances of plural &...
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I added ingredients/types of ingredients to this dish - can both of them mean the same?
When a noun is countable, can I use the plural form to indicate that there many different types, or should I use "types of 'noun'"?
Can both of them mean the same?
Example 1
I added ...
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One of them is [species] Can I put a plural form there?
My grammar book says that you can say "the dog," "a dog" and "dogs" to refer dogs.
This book says "dogs" is the most casual and common way of saying that among ...
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Can an adjective be used as a subject in this example? [closed]
In the example:
The Iranian were interested in building and repairing their own house
Why is the adjective, Iranian, used as a subject?
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Participle clauses "are" or "is"?
I wanted to say that the participle clauses are the most challenging grammar topic for me. On the one hand, my mind tells me to use "is" because "grammar topic" is singular, but on ...
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Where to place the plural mark in 3-word compound words?
This question is similar to this one (and other on the site), but with three elements in the compound word. In a technical context, where a bin is a range of frequency values and a bin is referred to ...
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Can I use 'that' for plural nouns?
The amount of white collar job openings in Bangladesh on average is
not enough to satiate the needs of the thousands of graduates that
want jobs.
The amount of white collar job openings in Bangladesh ...
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Plural nouns are used in these situations, but why do they have different meanings?
So, someone has told me that I should use the plural nouns when mentioning my favorite animals. Otherwise, it would sound like I wanted to eat them. For example, I like cats instead of I like cat.
If ...
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Using an adjective as a noun in the plural form
Which question is the more correct or the more colloquial?
1- "Why are they (those school subjects that you just mentioned) your FAVOURITE?"
2- or "Why are they (those school subjects ...
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plural form of "a woman doctor": women doctors or woman doctors?
I have thought that the plural form for "woman doctor" should be "woman doctors" because "woman" seems to be used like an adjective before "doctor."
But the ...
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Is it 'garment' or 'garments' when referring to trousers/pants?
For example, when referring to a single pair of trousers/pants worn by one person as "the tight-fitting garment(s)", is garment pluralized since the words trousers and pants are, or is it ...
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100 people's death or deaths?
The title says it all.
The original question goes like this:
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the given word.
The flood which happened last week caused 100 people's _______ (death).
I ...
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his guests would notice it
a. Jeff's friends went to Sally's place and talked to her father.
Does that necessarily mean all of Jeff's friends went to Sally's place and talked to her father?
b. I knew that if I gave the flash ...
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0 year old or 0 years old
SCENARIO 1
Would it be correct to say (option 1)"Johnson is a 0 years old newborn boy" or (option 2)"Johnson is a 0 year old newborn boy"?
SCENARIO 2
What about this: would it be
(...
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Most college vs Most colleges
Most college provide services designed to help students.
Most colleges provide services designed to help students.
I think that 2 is correct. Grammarly also indicates that 2 is correct. However, ...
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"There's," is only for singular subjects [closed]
"There's," seems a lazy way of saying, "There're," when the object is plural.
In recent times, two words, February and instrument, have kept their spelling, but newly are allowed ...
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Is there any difference between "all students", "all the students" and "all of the students"?
All students in the school participated in the meeting.
All the students in the school participated in the meeting.
All of the students in the school participated in the meeting.
Are they all ...
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What is the plural of “café au lait“?
According to Google Ngrams "café au laits" is more common.
On Google Books, however, cafés au lait is quite common.
Which plural form is more common? (Especially in the US?)
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Correct name: card-parser or cards-parser
There is a program that parses site pages with information about cards (there are many of them on the page). The program can be called card-parser or cards-parser. Which option is preferred and why?
I ...
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Singular or Plural for people? Which is more appropriate in an instruction manual at work
I need to write an instruction manual in English at work.
My problem is that I do not know if I should use a singular or plural noun.
Let me give you an example.
Employees , who are unable to work ...
user154167
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When to use "the" before plural nouns?
When are we allowed to use the definite article "the" before plural nouns? Is it true that when we talk generally, we don't use "the" before plural nouns, for example:
Americans ...
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To correctly express a property of something
I made several sentences related to the usage of the preposition of and articles. Please confirm if these are natural or at least correct:
Articles
Color is ([empty] / a / the) property of matter.
It ...
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Plural of “reason”
Reason: the cause of an event or situation or something that provides an excuse or explanation (From the Cambridge)
A doesn’t provide an excuse or explanation for C.
B doesn’t provide an excuse or ...
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"my best pair of pyjamas' / "my best pyjamas"
I can’t find my best pair of pyjamas/pajamas.
I can’t find my best pyjamas/pajamas.
Am I right despite the fact that more correctly to use the first version, the second version is more common in that ...
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Why is plural form of mouse are mice, but house's plural form is houses?
I don't understand these... why?
Why does it make difference when original form is almost same? (there's only just one letter difference, House and Mouse)
And I learned that computer's mouse's plural ...
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