Quick Answer Some verbs have two past forms and both are correct: I dreamed or I dreamt. The -ed form is standard in American English; the -t form is common in British English. Nobody will mark either one wrong. See the Pattern First Each line shows the same meaning, twice. I dreamed about the sea….
Quick Answer A group of English verbs look the same in the present, the past and with have: I cut it today, I cut it yesterday, I have cut it before. There is nothing to add and nothing to spell differently. See the Pattern First The verb never moves. Only the time words change. Today…
Quick Answer Criteria and media are plural forms. The singulars are criterion and medium. In careful writing, use “these criteria are“. In everyday speech, treating “media” as singular is now widely accepted. See the Pattern First The formal, correct pairs look like this. One criterion is important. All five criteria are important. Television is one…
Quick Answer Some English nouns have no singular form. You cannot say “a scissor” or “one trouser“. They are always plural, even when you mean one object — and they always take are, never “is”. See the Pattern First One object, but the grammar is plural every time. My trousers are new. (One item of…
Quick Answer Words English borrowed from French ending in -eau can add a silent -x: one bureau, two bureaux. Adding a normal -s is also correct, and more common in everyday English. The -x is silent either way. See the Pattern First Both endings are accepted. Listen — they sound identical. One bureau, two bureaux…
Quick Answer Ordinary English words ending in -x just add -es: one fox, two foxes. Latin words have a second, formal plural in -ices: one index, two indices. Both are correct — they are used in different fields. See the Pattern First The everyday words are easy. The Latin ones have two lives. One fox,…
Quick Answer Latin words ending in -a have a formal plural in -ae: one formula, two formulae. In everyday English, the simple -as form is equally correct — and far more common. See the Pattern First Most of these words have two accepted plurals. Context decides. In maths class: two formulae. In a shop: two…
Quick Answer Most everyday words ending in -o add -es: one potato, two potatoes. Newer or shortened words just add -s: photos, pianos, zeros. There is a simple test to tell them apart. See the Pattern First Two groups, side by side. One potato, two potatoes. One tomato, two tomatoes. One hero, two heroes. One…
Quick Answer A small group of very old English words change the vowel inside instead of adding an ending: one foot, two feet; one tooth, two teeth. There are only eight of them in everyday English — and you already know most. See the Pattern First Listen to the vowel change in the middle of…
Quick Answer Some English nouns look exactly the same for one and for many: one deer, two deer. You do not add anything. The words around them — one/two, is/are, this/these — tell the reader how many there are. See the Pattern First Nothing changes on the noun. Everything changes around it. One deer is…
