Nerine
Well-known member
scampo said:Trust an English teacher (and the OED)...!
(-;
Canada geese
Titmice
Keith's point about using the singular form as the plural works for some species, e.g. "There are six sparrowhawkin the air." but you could not say, "There are six titmouse in the wood." Titmice it has to be.
But the plural of the pointing device you are now holding in your hand is...?
Btw, the phrase "tufted titmouse" is not a proper noun; it is a common noun and requires to be written with initial lower case letters. Now, if you had a pet titmouse called Eric, then "Eric", with a capitalised "E" is the proper noun, i.e. the given name for a specific individual within a species.
Ok Steve, I trust you. But why, if titmouse plural is "titmice", isn't mongoose plural "mongeese"? I spent days persuading my husband it is mongooses. Why not titmouses? Ok, the OED says so. English Language ....... I despair!!!!
Cheers
Nerine