Plural ... Plurals? Pluralae?

Hello Hello!

As I sit here tap tap tapping away, I am distracted by a comment made by an American writer on a British writer’s piece.

The British writer had used “pence” as a word to describe more than one penny. The American writer advised the correct plural is “pennies”.

Who is right? Well, they both are.

Pluralisation changes from generation to generation and country to country as popular words ebb and flow.

Some other words have more than one plural form, all of which are correct – I’m looking at you:

formula / formulas / formulae

index / indexes / indices

staff / staffs / staves

brother / brothers / brethren

There are also words like “die” which have different pluralisations depending on the context:

Die (a cube with spots used in gaming) – Plural: Dice

Die (an instrument used in manufacturing) – Plural: Dies

So when writing about more than one of something, check the plural. Who knows, it may have changed!

See you soon!

G.D.

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