Readers of this column won't have trouble coming up with the plural version of most nouns. For example, we almost instinctively know that the plural of "boat" is "boats." But a special category of ...

English is full of irregular plural forms based on Latin and Greek. They can be confusing (apparatus? apparati? apparatuses?). They can be fun (the brothers Winklevii! and the flying Elvii! all ...

A particular tech company has reclaimed the letter "i" by turning it into a prefix — you know the one. But in this game, puzzle guru Art Chung sends poor "i" to the ends of words, by quizzing ...

A noun is a word used to identify something.There are a lot of nouns.There are many patterns to look out for when you turn a noun into a plural noun.Let’s look at a few of these patterns. In some ...

What is it with people and animals and irregular plurals?

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 ...

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 ...

When I saw “men’s’ clothing” with two apostrophes, I figured it must be a typo. I was editing a professional writer who’s been on the job for years, and I know from experience that writers make typos, ...