- Why is the plural form of piano pianos and not pianoes?
The rule says that if a singular noun ends in consonant + "o" then the plural form will be consonant + "oes" e g tomato => tomatoes Then, why this rule does not apply to piano?
- etymology - English Language Usage Stack Exchange
Only a week or two ago, the British Admiralty was proudly demonstrating to King George its new eight-barreled anti-aircraft guns, "Chicago pianos,"…named, forsooth, after the sawed-off shotguns and the "Tommy-guns" of Chicago's ex-gansters
- Is there a good rule of thumb for plurals of words ending in o?
If the noun ends with vowel + o, just add -s: radios, zoos If it’s a music word, it’s probably Italian, so just add -s: pianos, concertos Otherwise, look it up in a dictionary There is no rule of thumb that correctly covers all words Many nouns ending with -o can take either -es or -s but one or the other is preferred (This answer is informed by a recent attempt of mine to boil down
- american english - Have not versus do not have - English Language . . .
English is almost unique in the phenomenon of do-support Only a few of the Celtic languages and two very small Italian dialects use do in the way English does (and another that uses have in a similar way) It is not unusual, then, that people coming to English from any other language will have a bit of trouble with our use of the word do In general, the verb to do is a required part of
- Soft-peddle vs. Soft-pedal: eggcorn blunder or sly play on words?
I don't see that this is clearly a pun If he were selling pianos, or perhaps bicycles, it would be a good pun to say he "soft-peddled" them He's peddling, or selling, his "wares," right? As in, what a peddlar does? So how is "soft-peddle" not understood to be a soft-sell technique?
- What is the origin of the idiom with all the bells and whistles?
The invention of portable electrical generators (originally driven by the steam-engines that were used to move the travelling fairground rides) was also a big influence on the design Prior to that date, mechanical organs and pianos were much smaller and simpler instruments
- “I havent got” vs. “I dont have” - English Language Usage . . .
Which is the correct way of saying this in English? I haven't got any money I don't have any money If both are correct, which is the difference between them?
- grammar - play piano v. s. play the piano - English Language Usage . . .
I've heard that 'play piano' is OK in American usage Is that true? What I learned so far is 'play the piano' As long as it comes to the instruments, we usually "play the (instrument)" Is that co
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