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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Parenthetical Plurals

How would I go about pluralizing a word with parentheses - so that it may be read as either singular or plural - if the plural of that word ends with "es"? The word "speech," for example. Would it be speech(s ) or speech(es)?

Thanks in advance!
  

Top answer

Hi, Only speech(es) seems suitable. Clive

— Clive

  • Hi, Only speech(es) seems suitable.
  • Clive
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4 Answers
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Hi,

Only speech(es) seems suitable.

Clive
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AnonymousWould it be speech(s) or speech(es)?
It would be speech(es).

CJ

By the way, on this site you need to leave a space to get certain letters to show up between parentheses because they are codes for icons. Thus, ( s ).

CJ
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Never mind. Apparently that doesn't work anymore.
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And I have further confused the issue by fixing the original post before noticing that the emoticon was being discussed, sorry. CJ has luckily captured it in amber. I usually just space between one parenthesis: quicker that way, if a bit asymmetric. Well, I'm a grammarian, not a geometrician.
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