<![CDATA[Why do people say English is hard?]]>

Oh by the way here's a list of all the different types of plural that I can think of:
-a / -ae (formula / formulae)
-ø / -(e)s (cat / cats)
-ø / -ø (sheep / sheep)
-ø / -en (ox / oxen)
-ø / -eren (child / children)
-us / -i (cactus / cacti)
-is / -es (analysis / analyses)
-um / -a (datum / data)
-on / -a (phenomenon / phenomena)
-ix / -ices (radix / radices)
-ex / -ices (index / indices)
-eau / -eaux (bureau / bureaux)
ablaut (man / men)]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/86dad359-9e45-41e0-aa00-209b04e52020/why-do-people-say-english-is-hardRSS for NodeMon, 25 May 2026 13:50:25 GMTThu, 21 May 2026 19:26:19 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Why do people say English is hard? on Thu, 21 May 2026 20:03:50 GMT]]>@malachy this is ablaut]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://void.lgbt/objects/72c36897-82b0-4894-a701-2f0a511338d4https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://void.lgbt/objects/72c36897-82b0-4894-a701-2f0a511338d4Thu, 21 May 2026 20:03:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why do people say English is hard? on Thu, 21 May 2026 20:02:38 GMT]]>@KaitlynEthylia

-oose / -eese (goose / geese)
-ouse/ -ice (mouse / mice)
-oof / -ooves (hoof / hooves)
-oot / -eet (foot / feet)

I think these ones are legacy of a completely different and ancient system of plurals, based on sound changes instead of suffix.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.nu/ap/users/115915469604932231/statuses/116614349351365750https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.nu/ap/users/115915469604932231/statuses/116614349351365750Thu, 21 May 2026 20:02:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why do people say English is hard? on Thu, 21 May 2026 19:49:42 GMT]]>@count_01 nevermind, holy fuck, I love that]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://void.lgbt/objects/54e39c4a-b39d-45b3-ab88-8f93d21345f8https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://void.lgbt/objects/54e39c4a-b39d-45b3-ab88-8f93d21345f8Thu, 21 May 2026 19:49:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why do people say English is hard? on Thu, 21 May 2026 19:49:11 GMT]]>@count_01 finger bones are called Phalanges right? I would guess then that the singular is a Phalengis]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://void.lgbt/objects/3d18d878-d8da-459b-ad48-ab5378c78051https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://void.lgbt/objects/3d18d878-d8da-459b-ad48-ab5378c78051Thu, 21 May 2026 19:49:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why do people say English is hard? on Thu, 21 May 2026 19:39:58 GMT]]>@KaitlynEthylia How many people in my college anatomy class (beginning enrollment: 37) got the bonus question, "what is the term for a singular finger bone?"

I doubt it was many of us.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/count_01/statuses/116614260233341416https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/count_01/statuses/116614260233341416Thu, 21 May 2026 19:39:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why do people say English is hard? on Thu, 21 May 2026 19:37:08 GMT]]>@peachymist these days you're more likely to hear "data point" in place if datum]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://void.lgbt/objects/b2facf65-0157-4ee3-b835-21bd400b4359https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://void.lgbt/objects/b2facf65-0157-4ee3-b835-21bd400b4359Thu, 21 May 2026 19:37:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why do people say English is hard? on Thu, 21 May 2026 19:36:42 GMT]]>@peachymist In some (often older) use. These days it's most commonly treated like a mass noun / uncountable noun, meaning it doesn't have grammatical number]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://void.lgbt/objects/ddb5780c-69f6-4076-b023-687aca147d1dhttps://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://void.lgbt/objects/ddb5780c-69f6-4076-b023-687aca147d1dThu, 21 May 2026 19:36:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why do people say English is hard? on Thu, 21 May 2026 19:29:51 GMT]]>@KaitlynEthylia the singular of data is datum?? ]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://labyrinth.zone/objects/6f685be2-e172-444c-ad6e-37862137c7abhttps://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://labyrinth.zone/objects/6f685be2-e172-444c-ad6e-37862137c7abThu, 21 May 2026 19:29:51 GMT