# Words that are commonly (and incorrectly) pluralized or "apostrophed" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 14, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251 "2021-06-14T16:11:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/101 "2021-07-01T14:00:27Z")
Perhaps it’s the contraction form of “Go-Goes?” Seriously, I’m a big fan and I have no idea. I’ve tended to think that the band members saw the possessive form and thought of it as the plural form also…which is basically the subject of this whole thread. Besides, “Go-Gos” is sort of odd-looking. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/102 "2021-07-01T14:20:18Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Perhaps it’s the contraction form of “Go-Goes?” That’s the best theory I’ve heard yet. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2021, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/103 "2021-07-05T09:39:37Z")
“Doctor’s appointment” has always bugged me. I say “doctor appointment.” ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2021, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/104 "2021-07-05T10:14:59Z")
@CardboardBoxx You do realize if it’s plural, it’s _drivers’ license_ (with the apostrophe at the end). (Also, sorry, but I do spell _license_ the American way, you realize.) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2021, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/105 "2021-07-05T14:04:10Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > You do realize if it’s plural, it’s _drivers’ license_ (with the apostrophe at the end). But it isn’t plural. In Illinois at least (and I suspect elsewhere), it’s _DRIVER’S LICENSE_. One license per driver. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/106 "2021-07-05T16:31:59Z")
Cannon, cannons is another one. I was recently reading a book where cannons was used as a plural. The worst part was when they misquoted Tennyson - "_cannons to the left of them, cannons to the right…"_ Grrrr. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2021, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/107 "2021-07-05T17:00:37Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Cannon, cannons is another one. I was recently reading a book where cannons was used as a plural. The worst part was when they misquoted Tennyson - "_cannons to the left of them, cannons to the right…"_ Grrrr Sorry, what is the problem here? Is this one of those British/American differences again? Because Merriam-Webster says cannon can by pluralized with either _cannons_ or _cannon_. I’m not sure I’ve ever hear the singular use for the plural in American usage. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/108 "2021-07-05T17:07:36Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Because Merriam-Webster says cannon can by pluralized with either _cannons_ or _cannon_ . This is correct. But in _The Charge of the Light Brigade_, Tennyson wrote ‘cannon’, not ‘cannons’. So while the usage is correct, the supposed quote is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/109 "2021-07-05T17:09:08Z")
Many stores had “Penneys” signs on them. > **[When It Was Penneys](https://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com/2011/09/when-it-was-penneys.html?m=1)** > > For most of their first sixty years of existence, the signs out front read “J.C. Penney Company” or “J.C. Penney Co.” in “black and mustard ... ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/110 "2021-07-05T22:23:06Z")
The medical facility founded by Danny Thomas is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, not St. Jude’s. St. John Arena, longtime home of The Ohio State University’s men’s basketball team, was named after the Buckeyes’ former coach, Mr. Lynn St. John. He never owned the building, though, so “St. John’s Arena” is incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2021, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/111 "2021-07-05T22:43:53Z")
Here is an uncommon word that is incorrectly singularized : lithops I grow them and they are such a joy to have. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2021, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/112 "2021-07-05T23:34:31Z")
cyclops, congeries, litotes, lens… many words end in “s” that are already singular, but your post is interesting—do people really often incorrectly singularize them? ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2021, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/113 "2021-07-06T00:09:37Z")
The extent of my knowledge is limited to a Facebook gardening group dedicated to these plants. New members often buy one Lithops and call it a Lithop. It happens to be a pet peeve of the moderators in that group ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/114 "2021-07-14T16:07:05Z")
Species is one of those words that it singular and plural. Sometimes people improperly use the spelling specie as the singular. Specie is a whole other word meaning money in the form of coins. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/115 "2021-07-14T16:55:20Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Anyhow, back in the late 19th & early 20th century, the vast majority of retail stores were Mom & Pop one-offs. Very often named for the owner / founder / proprietor / only employee. “Smith’s Dry Goods” being an achetypical example. I’ve mini-ranted about my mom’s “possessivization” of almost every store name. She goes to _Nordstrom’s_ and _Barnes & Noble’s_ (shudder). The frustrating part of this is that if you correct her, she doesn’t care. And basically says “I live in my own world where I can use language any way I want to, and go to Nordstrom’s… or Mack-a-NACK Island!” (we asked her to please say Mack-i-NAW decades ago, and she still uses that example) And I think everyone in her retirement home, if their medical condition is really serious, gets sent to _Mayo’s!_ (the Mayo Clinic). ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/116 "2021-07-14T19:36:29Z")
Here is a plural pronunciation peeve. Some words are pluralized by the suffix -ae. Larvae, antennae, vertebrae, algae, etc. All my biology profs back in college were adamant that -ae is pronounced "ee’’ as in keep or deep. Dictionaries agree. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/117 "2021-07-14T20:16:59Z")
I recently saw a list of tips for how to do something, divided into two groups. It was labeled: > DO’s and DON’Ts One of them has to be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/118 "2021-07-14T22:55:18Z")
We do need to be careful to not be snobbish about this. A Twit of FB pst is different to a printed instruction or a sign. " **TRESPASSER’S WILL BE SHOT" is** out of order, but while “My car wont start” is wrong, it doesn’t really matter. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/119 "2021-07-14T23:01:54Z")
agree ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/120 "2021-07-15T03:22:38Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I recently saw a list of tips for how to do something, divided into two groups. It was labeled: > > > DO’s and DON’Ts > > One of them has to be wrong. I’ve seen this so many times that it seems to be standard. There has to be a better way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251.md?page=7)