Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Ignorantics: Irregular Plural Nouns Basic Skills Puzzle

Now, we all know that there are nouns that are both singular and plural. Examples: deer, moose, sheep, swine, etc. Then, there is the word "fish". Look at the puzzle piece to the left. It is part of a puzzle that shows the singular on the left and the plural on the right. This skills puzzle is called "Irregular Plural Nouns", and one of my readers, a speech pathologist, was about to use this puzzle with one of her clients until she pulled out the puzzle piece pictured to your left and exclaimed "Aw Hayle Naw!" [pause] Ok, slight embellishment, more like "Let me contact Ignorantics to put this puzzle manufacturer on blast! This is not correct."

Lesson: [this is for my expert grammarians out there] Yes, you can say "fishes" but only if you are referring to several individual species of fish. For example, if you visit an aquarium and you see a tank filled with Bonnethead Shark, Green Moray Eel, and Porcupinefish  don't be surprised to see a sign that says: "Fishes of the Atlantic Coral Reef". "Fishes" used in that form is CORRECT, but the way that it is used in this puzzle pictured to the left, is incorrect. Now, to all my Ignorantics out there...go get you some fishes for dinner tonight!!!

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