English Majors: VERY Important!!!! Explain the correct plural of "Ferrari"...

Old saying (BTW, probably not a complete sentence either): "Those who can't, teach."

 

Indenting the first word? Plus, a space between paragraphs?

 

Rob,
You just did it again! Cue Brittany Spears. No apostrophes. Just a small "s" after each capital-letter.

 

You are correct. The Internet is wrong. My editor complains about this all the time. I don't get antsy about mistakes on social media because I make them myself, and I see this as chatting around the water cooler. But if someone decides to argue the point, then I'm happy to point out where they're wrong.

 

Not at all true in fiction. I have one word paragraphs. It's all about format and style.

 

That's the cool thing about fiction is you get to do whatever you want. I have grown to like not using quotations for dialog:

JimBob said, "Hey, screw you."

"No, screw you, back," said Jolynn.

Compared to:

Hey, screw you.

No, screw you, back.

Unfortunately, all I get to write is boring nonfiction stuff about tax law. Wait a minute! Maybe tax law is fiction? Wow, this creates all kinds of possibilities.

 

This might hold true for public schools, but in the Ivy League schools everybody gets an A.

One sidenote: a few years ago, I was asked to become a entrepreneurship professor. I didn't get a response after I said, "I'm assuming the plan is for nobody to graduate." I don't think they appreciated my comment.

 

Can't believe no one has mentioned "its" and "it's" yet. Seems like they're the most common error on this site. But yeah, the random addition of apostrophes seems to be on the increase lately.

 

Interesting matter!
Well, if you put any name in plural in Italian, French or Spanish, you will have to respect that the name actually doesn't change, nothing is added.

Eng:The Macdonald couple = the Macdonalds
It. : La coppia Macdonald = I Macdonald
Fr. : Le couple Macdonald = Les Macdonald
Esp.: La pareja Macdonald = Las Macdonald

Let's look at the word paparazzo, which keeps the Italian plural form paparazzi in English.
The same with maffioso that becomes maffiosi in plural.
There's also a group of Italian words which have entered English in their plural forms – these are typically the names for various kinds of pasta. For example: spaghetti; tagliatelle; tortellini; cannelloni; lasagne.

We don't know the origin of the (Enzo) Ferrari name. Was it plural of "Ferraro or Ferrare"?
Was it a kind of dative or genitive like " someone from the city Ferrara", called Ferrari?
We don't know.
But, with respect for the Italian language, one could suppose that saying "the Ferrari cars" is more correct than saying "the Ferraris". Since it is still a name. Unlike a cappuccino, that becomes cappuccinos in plural.

 

That's the funny part, the near Ivies, like Duke, Williams and so on, are much harder than the real thing. Basically, if you have the numbers and money to get in, Harvard is not going to flunk you out.

 

It is a deep rabbit hole, with other word choices that include:

- your vs. you're

- fewer vs. less

- further vs. farther

- other, another, and the dreaded nother

And how does one write X's and O's correctly?
.

 

Is data plural or singular? Somebody please help me out!

 

The plural of Ferrari is Ferraris. Why some people insist on using the apostrophe incorrectly is beyond me.

Yes, I'm pedantic, and I have the cap to prove it.
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Is sports car possessive or a noun? Somebody please make it stop!

 

Your data is wrong.

Oh wait, maybe that should be your data are wrong.

Please, please make it stop.

 

If Tifosi (fans in English) is the plural of a Tifoso (male fan) or a Tifosa (female fan),

then is Ferrari the plural of a Ferraro or a Ferrara?

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Single form of Data is Datum.

When I had to write formal documents I would always substitute "data values" in my head to get the sentences to sound right when I used the word "data".

For example, "The data are confusing to someone not familiar with the topic" is correct versus "The data is confusing to someone nor familiar with the topic".
Makes sense if you substitute "data values", for example "The data values are confusing to someone not familiar with the topic".

However, the plural form of Deer is Deer.
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If you have a car and you consider yourself a "sport" (you do, don't you?) and someone saw your car, he might say, "Hey! That's* a sport's car." If it were a sporty car, he might exclaim, "Hey! That's* a sport's sports car."

*The apostrophe in this instance signifies a contraction (of "that is") not the possessive.


They don't give out those caps for nothing, you know.