- Why is the plural form of piano pianos and not pianoes?
"Those which have a vowel before the final -o always just add -s like studio studios etc " So piano pianos? How is n a vovel? The link thankfully is correct and it has specific examples of words ending with a consonants followed by a vowel using es as suffix for plural, like domino dominoes –
- grammar - play piano v. s. play the piano - English Language Usage . . .
This is really quite complex (and not a little odd) If someone is asked whether they play a musical instrument they will say (even if they own a houseful of guitars) "I play the guitar" as though all the guitars in the world were, somehow, one instrument
- 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 St Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri, 08 Jul 1938, p 16 (paywalled)
- semantics - English Language Usage Stack Exchange
The part about "fine furniture" is not contradicted by the photo I was referring to the statements, "It becomes the focal point of whatever room it's in," and, "The seating arrangement works around it " Based on my recollection of rooms with pianos in them, these statements usually are true They merely seemed not to apply to this particular room
- Why are the buttons on computer keyboards called keys?
Originally of pianos, organs, etc , extended to other machines 1846 The verb is first recorded 1926 (implied in keyboarding) key: Musical sense of "tone, note" is 15c , but modern sense of "scale" is 1580s, probably as a translation of Latin clavis or French clef (see clef; also see keynote) Extended c 1500 to "mechanism on a musical
- 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 –
- Is there a good rule of thumb for plurals of words ending in o?
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
- adjectives - What is the difference between electric and electrical . . .
Since you mentioned musical instruments, note that electric pianos, electronic pianos, and digital pianos are three different things, though of course they all use electricity – nnnnnn Commented Jan 24, 2020 at 21:29
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