Month: January 2008

“One of the most deadly phenomenon …”

Common English Blunders, Hypercorrection, Nouns, Plurals

I heard this from a USGS spokeswoman on television.

Problem:
The noun “phenomenon” is not plural.

Explanation:
The phrase “one of” should be followed by a plural noun.

The noun “phenomenon”, which means an observable occurrence, is the singular of the plural noun “phenomena”.

I believe that the use of “phenomenon” in place of “phenomena” represents hypercorrection. In particular, because so many people hear that “phenomena” is not always the correct noun, they use “phenomenon” even when “phenomena” is the correct noun.

Solution:
“One of the most deadly phenomena …”

“This should be another cumulative criteria.”

Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Nouns, Plurals

I saw this in a document for a software project’s business requirements.

Problem:
The noun “criteria” is not singular.

Explanation:
The adjective “another” means an additional, which requires a singular noun.

The noun “criteria” is the plural of the singular noun “criterion”, which means a standard for evaluation.

Many will use “criteria” when what they mean is “criterion”. I believe that this is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. The noun “criteria” is simpler to say than is the noun “criterion”. In particular, it’s simpler to speak a word that ends with “a” than it is to speak a word that ends with “on” (which has to be held longer than “a”).

Solution:
“This should be another cumulative criterion.”

“The Nelson’s”

Apostrophes, Common English Blunders, Plurals, Possessives

I saw this on a luggage tag at O’Hare airport.

Problem:
An apostrophe appears where it should not.

Explanation:
An apostrophe should not be used to pluralize a family name. The brightly colored luggage tag was meant to call the reader’s attention to the fact that the luggage belonged to the Nelson family.

Use of the definite article on the luggage tag told me that the family name was Nelson.

The plural of Nelson is Nelsons (not Nelson’s). For example, The Nelsons live in suburban Chicago.

If the luggage-tag writer had wanted to indicate that the luggage belonged to the Nelsons, then he could have written The Nelsons’. Note the possessive apostrophe after the pluralized family name.

Solution:
“The Nelsons”