A pair of binoculars

So, the prefix 'bi-' indicates two and then there is an '-s' on the end indicating a plural word. English treats the word as a plural (we wouldn't say 'the binoculars is' for example). It is strange because it seems like we are saying there are multiple sets of two, so binoculars should really be talking about at least two pair of binoculars. A single example should either be noculars or binocular. English is weird and I'm glad I already know it.

This started because I looked up why the words pants is a plural word that describes one item.

Same a pair of pants.

It makes perfect sense.

Definition of PANT

1 : an outer garment covering each leg separately and usually extending from the waist to the ankle —usually used in plural

You typically wear a pair of pants as they are sold that way and are used to cover both legs. Similarly, a pair of binoculars is a set comprised of two eyepieces (oculars) that are commonly used together in a pair of two.

Binoculars is the same as bi-pants. Pants make sense, but binoculars are doubly plural.

Write it off the English being a really screwed up language.

grits is good ? or … grits are good ?

In reply to wbjones:

Are of course. One grit just isn't enough.

Fish is similarly weird. I am eating a piece of fish. That is a school of fish. What a nice fish you have there. Look at all of those fish. So fish is singular and plural. And yet, "fishes" is a word that means plural of fish, right? As in fishes and loaves, or sleep with the fishes. I am confused. And don't get me started on fishes'...

I'm either way too sober or not nearly high enough for this conversation.

yes you are

Mouse - Mice

House - Houses

Moose - Moose

This is like Lucy trying to teach Ricky English lessons.
It's as classic of an I Love Lucy episode as the candy factory one.

I still have a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that we drive on the parkway and park on the driveway. English has a weird.

Yes, the plural-singular thing is weird.

As for the prefix, though, 'bin-' is an alternate prefix that means the same thing as 'bi-'. So it's bin-ocular-s. A pair of 'oculars' (which makes more sense than a pair of 'noculars'.)

EastCoastMojo wrote: I still have a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that we drive on the parkway and park on the driveway. English has a weird.

That's an Americanism. In England you drive on the motorway. :)

Starting to sound like a Gallagher routine around here.

In reply to codrus:

That makes sense. About the only thing in this thread that does.

Vegetarians eat vegetables.

What do humanitarians eat?

stuart in mn wrote: Starting to sound like a Gallagher routine around here.

Yeah. Everyone forgets about Gallagher's linguistic bits.

I could go for a pair of hooters.

Ox-Oxen. Box-Boxen

WilD wrote: It makes perfect sense. Definition of PANT 1 : an outer garment covering each leg separately and usually extending from the waist to the ankle —usually used in plural You typically wear a pair of pants as they are sold that way and are used to cover both legs. Similarly, a pair of binoculars is a set comprised of two eyepieces (oculars) that are commonly used together in a pair of two.

And yet women have just one bra.

I have several coworkers who aren't native English speakers. When they don't get their phrasing or sentence structure correct I just say "English is hard. We have two ways to spell one, three ways to spell two, one way to spell three, and three ways to spell four."

In reply to codrus:

Touché.

Toyman01 wrote: Write it off the English being a really screwed up language.

English is not that hard, you just have to follow the rules...

"I" before "E", except after "C"

AND when sounding like "A" as in "Neighbor" and "Weigh"

AND on weekends, and holidays, and all throughout May

AND you'll ALWAYS be wrong no matter WHAT YOU SAY!!