Single Out the Plurals

This Wise Writing Wrinkle is to single out the plurals.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Plurals are words that are modified to indicate more than one of something. Typically, you can just add an “s” to a noun (e.g., apples, pears, etc.). However, some words in the English language are a little bit trickier when making them plural:

datum –> data ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ child –> children ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ box –> boxes ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Additionally, some writers get tripped up with adding apostrophes to make words and numbers plural. Unless the word or number should be plural and is used in an instance of possession (e.g., dogs’ food, 1990s’ music), an apostrophe does not show that something is plural. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ To determine if you have created a plural correctly, you can do a quick search on the web for the word you are using or find a dictionary to check the spelling of the plural version of the word. Plurality rules are interesting and sometimes complex to work with, but once you get the hang of them, you’ll be able to single them out and apply them efficiently.

#writing #writingtips #Wisewritingwrinkles #writers #proofraedprofessionalwritingconsultationservices