Could it be that these are animals that were hunted, fished, or herded and that there was a convention that used the singular as a sort of generic plural when going after these creatures for sport or ...

Confused about the plural of fish? Discover whether to use 'fish' or 'fishes' in this article. Learn the grammar rules and ...

Think you know your plurals? From everyday words like “tomato” to tricky Latin and Greek forms like “nucleus” and “appendix,” this 25-question quiz will put your grammar skills to the ultimate test.

One morning earlier this week I was able to spend about 10 minutes with a university professor who teaches English composition to freshmen students. It wasn't lost on me that I haven't listened to an ...

The English language doesn’t always abide by its own rules. It’s a giant melting pot of etymologies, sourcing itself from all over the world. The perplexing silent letters in words like “tsunami” and ...

Algae thrives in sunlight. Or is it algae thrive? These are the questions that can broadside a copy editor years, even decades, into her career. When it comes to English, there’s never a point where ...

TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online ...