Editing English plurals (section)

===Singulars as plural and plurals as singular===

==== Plural words becoming singular ====

=====Plural in form but singular in construction=====
Certain words which were originally plural in form have come to be used almost exclusively as singulars (usually uncountable); for example ''billiards'', ''measles'', ''news'', ''mathematics'', ''physics'', etc. Some of these words, such as ''news'', are strongly and consistently felt as singular by fluent speakers. These words are usually marked in dictionaries with the phrase "plural in form but singular in construction" (or similar wording). Others, such as ''aesthetics'', are less strongly or consistently felt as singular; for the latter type, the dictionary phrase "plural in form but singular or plural in construction" recognizes variable [[usage]].

=====Plural form became a singular form=====
Some words of foreign origin are much better known in their (foreign-[[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]]) plural form, and are often not even recognized by English speakers as having plural form; [[linguistic description|descriptively]], in English morphology many of these simply are not in plural form, because English has naturalized the foreign plural as the English singular. Usage of the original singular may be considered pedantic, [[hypercorrection|hypercorrective]], or incorrect.<ref>"The word agenda, for example, was originally plural (from ''agendum'': 'something to be acted on') but is nowadays used only as a singular, and nobody in their right mind would insist that it should be used as a plural." {{cite web|url=http://www.eisu2.bham.ac.uk/johnstf/revis006.htm |author=Tim Johns |title=Data: singular or plural? |website=Tim Johns EAP Page |access-date=2014-06-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211165815/http://eisu2.bham.ac.uk/johnstf/revis006.htm |archive-date=11 February 2009 }}</ref> In the examples below, the original plural is now commonly used as a singular, and in some cases a regular English plural (effectively a [[double plural]]) has been formed from it.
{{block indent|{{wikitable
|-
!Original singular||Original plural/<br>common singular||Common plural
|-
|agendum||agenda<ref group="f">''An agenda'' commonly is used to mean ''a list of agenda''.</ref>||agendas
|-
|alga||algae||algae
|-
|biscotto||biscotti||biscotti
|-
|candelabrum||candelabra||candelabras
|-
|datum<ref group="f">A single piece of data is sometimes referred to as a ''data point''. In engineering, drafting, surveying, and geodesy, and in [[weight and balance#Terms|weight and balance]] calculations for aircraft, a [[datum (geodesy)|datum]] (plural datums or data) is a reference point, surface, or axis on an object or the Earth's surface against which measurements are made.</ref>||data||data (mass noun)
|-
|graffito||graffiti||graffiti (mass noun)
|-
|insigne||insignia||insignias
|-
|opus<ref group="f">Retained in ''magnum opus'' and for the [[opus number]]ing system for systematically naming musical works by the same composer</ref>||opera||operas
|-
|panino||panini||paninis (currently gaining use)
|-
|paparazzo||paparazzi||paparazzi
|-
|spaghetto||spaghetti||spaghetti (mass noun)
|-
|talib||[[Taliban#Etymology|taliban]]||taliban (collective noun)
|-
|zucchino||zucchini (''U.S. English'')||zucchinis
}}}}

''Magazine'' was derived from Arabic via French. It was originally plural, but in French and English it is always regarded as singular.

Other words whose plurals are sometimes used as singulars include:
{{block indent|{{wikitable
|-
|criterion||criteria
|-
|phenomenon||phenomena
}}}}

'''Notes:'''
{{reflist| group="f"|close}}

==== Back-formation ====
Some words have unusually formed singulars and plurals, but develop "normal" singular-plural pairs by [[back-formation]]. For example, ''pease'' (modern ''peas'') was in origin a singular with plural ''peasen''. However, ''pease'' came to be analysed as plural by analogy, from which a new singular ''pea'' was formed; the spelling of ''pease'' was also altered accordingly, surviving only in the name of the dish ''[[pease porridge]]'' or ''pease pudding''. Similarly, ''termites'' was the three-syllable plural of ''termes''; this singular was lost, however, and the plural form reduced to two syllables. ''Syringe'' is a back-formation from ''syringes'', itself the plural of ''[[Pan flute|syrinx]]'', a musical instrument. ''Cherry'' is from [[Norman language|Norman French]] ''cherise''. ''Phases'' was once the plural of ''phasis'', but the singular is now ''phase''. The nonstandard, offensive, and now obsolete ''Chinee'' and ''Portugee'' singulars are back-formations from the standard ''Chinese'' and ''Portuguese''.

''Kudos'' is a singular Greek word meaning praise, but is often taken to be a plural. At present, however, ''kudo'' is considered an error, though the usage is becoming more common{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} as ''kudos'' becomes better known. The name of the Greek sandwich style ''[[Gyro (food)|gyros]]'' is increasingly undergoing a similar transformation.

The term, from Latin, for the main upper arm flexor in the singular is the ''biceps muscle'' (from ''[[biceps brachii]]''); however, many English speakers take it to be a plural and refer to the muscle of only one arm, by back-formation, as ''a bicep''. The correct—although very seldom used—Latin plural is ''bicipites''.

The word ''[[sastrugi]]'' (hard ridges on deep snow) is of Russian origin and its singular is ''sastruga''; but the imagined Latin-type singular ''sastrugus'' has sometimes been used.

==== Geographical plurals used as singular ====
Geographical names may be treated as singular even if they are plural in form, if they are regarded as representing a single entity such as a country: ''The United States '''is''' a country in North America'' (similarly with ''the Netherlands'', ''the Philippines'', ''Trinidad and Tobago'', ''the United Nations,'' etc.). However, if the sense is a group of geographical objects, such as islands or mountains, a plural-form name will be treated as plural: ''The Hebrides '''are''' a group of islands off the coast of Scotland.''

==== Singulars with collective meaning treated as plural ====
Words such as ''army'', ''company'', ''crowd'', ''family'', ''fleet'', ''government'', ''majority'', ''mess'', ''number'', ''pack'', ''party'' and ''team'' may refer either to a single entity or the members of the set composing it. If the latter meaning is intended, the word (though singular in form) may be treated as if it were a plural, in that it may take a plural verb and be replaced with a plural pronoun: (in British English) ''the government '''are''' considering '''their''' position'' (alternatively ''the government is considering its position''). See [[synesis]].

Thus, as [[H. W. Fowler]] describes, in [[British English]] they are "treated as singular or plural at discretion"; Fowler notes that occasionally a "delicate distinction" is made possible by discretionary plurals: "''The Cabinet'' is ''divided'' is better, because in the order of thought a whole must precede division; and ''The Cabinet'' are ''agreed'' is better, because it takes two or more to agree."<ref>Fowler, H. W., ''[[Fowler's Modern English Usage|A Dictionary of Modern English Usage]]'', 2nd ed., revised by [[Ernest Gowers|Sir Ernest Gowers]] (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965), 403.</ref>