Remember, when you were a kid, you learned that there were certain rules in grammar ("i before e...") and for every rule there were certain exceptions ("...except after c or when sounding like a, as in neighbor and weigh"). they were drilled into your head in the 1st or 2nd grade and then hammered in every so often.
one of the most basic rules, though was pluralization of nouns. if there's more than one of something you stick an s on the end. granted there are certain words for which this does not apply, because they end in y which then becomes an i and s becomes es; you know how it goes. other exceptions are the words which, for whatever reason, don't change when you pluralize them ( ie. deer and moose) or become whole new words (ie. mice and geese).
Lately, though, i've noticed that the rules seem to have changed; the plural for octopus is no longer octopi, it's now octopuses. the plural for fish is no longer fish, it's fishes.
now, i know language is fluid and subject to change over the course of the ages, but when did this happen?
3 comments:
You should ask this one, she'd know:
http://www.dictionaryevangelist.com/
Personally I have no clue.
This comment was brought to you by the Captcha word -prike-
or fishIES..... mmmmmm, need sushi.
A lot has changed in the past 5 years and much of it has to do with internet usage and traffic.
I will really miss my personal favorite though. Never use a preposition to end a sentence with.
grandali - Once a spectacular avenue, but urban renewal has displaced it to being just a Grand Ally.
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