# Plural of gas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 9, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472 "2009-07-09T17:23:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/1 "2009-07-09T17:23:48Z")
As in atmospheric gases or gasses? US English, please. I could swear I’m used to seeing “gasses,” but I went to look it up online and I see many places and some dictionaries happily using “gases.” This seems startlingly new to me. Is this something that’s in transition, or have I been reading too many British chemistry papers, or is the Web full of nitwits? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/2 "2009-07-09T17:32:31Z")
I’ve always seen the single -s- version in any proofread printed material. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/3 "2009-07-09T17:48:05Z")
My wooden dictionary gives the plural as “gases.” It gives the past-tense and gerund verb forms as “gassed” and “gassing”, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![TheMadEngineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TheMadEngineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadEngineer)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/4 "2009-07-09T17:51:56Z")
This is a case of English not conforming to its own rules, again… personally I would prefer the spelling “Gasses” be used as it does not imply in any way a hard “A” sound should be used, however “Gases” is the correct spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/5 "2009-07-09T19:31:03Z")
Compare to \*\*bus \*\*and its plural **buses**. Makes you wince, but it’s the official spelling. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/6 "2009-07-09T19:45:50Z")
My dictionary shows “gases or gasses.” ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/7 "2009-07-09T19:48:55Z")
Both are correct. I believe the -ss- is the older way, to conform with the need to show that the “a” is pronouced as a short vowel, but the more modern way is to simply add the -s or -es regardless of syllable quality. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/8 "2009-07-09T21:51:40Z")
Actually, never mind ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/9 "2009-07-09T22:12:00Z")
I use “gases” as a plural noun and “gasses” as a third person singular verb. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/10 "2009-07-09T23:38:31Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Compare to \*\*bus \*\*and its plural **buses**. Makes you wince, but it’s the official spelling. As was brought up in another thread, “busses” is still acceptable, and is my preferred spelling for the same reason that “gasses” is my preferred spelling. I’m accustomed (in the welding world) to seeing both “gases” and “gasses” depending upon the nation of origin. ---
**Author:** ![Zackmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19adc/32.png) [@Zackmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zackmo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/11 "2009-07-10T17:09:28Z")
Both my dictionary and my chemistry textbook use the one-‘s’ spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/12 "2009-07-10T17:25:50Z")
I don’t think it’s a British/American issue, as the single-“s” spelling is the most common one here in the UK, too. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/13 "2009-07-10T17:40:03Z")
The OED lists the plural as “gases” with no mention of an alternative. It gives several citations for “gases”, with the earliest from 1791. There is one citation for “Gasses” from 1779, but in that case, the singular was also spelled “Gass”. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-gas/502472/14 "2009-07-10T18:03:43Z")
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