Which plural form is more common?
tuxedos vs tuxedoes

Question

bsloan7 · Accepted Answer

Tuxedos

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn “Tux” is more common, but I doubt people always say it.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn It just depends on how formal the occasion is. Most formal occasions do not require tuxes, no. But black-tie events always require tuxes.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn No, you should never wear a tuxedo to a funeral in the US. I don’t know what the dress code is in other countries.

I’m not sure where the word “black-tie” comes from. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s referring to black *bow ties* specifically since those are worn with tuxedos. Examples of black tie events are galas, charity balls, award ceremonies, and weddings that take place in the evening.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn No, black-tie pretty much equates to evening wear. And I think I read somewhere that tuxedos shouldn’t be worn before 6 pm.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Weird and maybe even a bit gauche

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn No, “black-tie” is the proper term.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Not tuxes, no. But there are suits that are made specifically for women. I’m sure there are women in China who wear them as well.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn There’s no such thing as a “morning gown”. That’s not a term we use in modern English. And in older English, it didn’t refer to formal dresses that women wear for daytime events.

But yes, women wear evening gowns/dresses for formal events that happen in the evening and cocktail dresses for formal events that happen during the day or less formal evening events.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn No, that sounds like another archaic meaning.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Juicer

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn No, it would be understood, but I’ve never heard anyone say that. It sounds kind of technical for no reason. “Juicer” is simpler and means the same thing.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn It’s unnecessarily wordy. You can just say:

Let’s move/put the table over by the window.

Let’s move/put the table next to the window.

Let’s move/put the table close to the window.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes, both of those are okay. But to me “to the window” sounds like you want the table completed pressed against the window.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn I actually had to look this up because I’ve never used one or heard people talk about using one. It seems that they’re called soy milk makers or soy milk machines.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn I mean I don’t know which one is more common for sure. Most people don’t make their own milk or juice anyway. But if I had to guess, I would say using a juicer probably is more common.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn I think the sentence is okay, but yes, I would use “vocabularies” just because “people” is also plural.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes, “vocabulary” is mostly uncountable. But you’re not talking about just one person’s vocabulary.

bsloan7 · Answer

Some nouns are both countable and uncountable. They can become countable when talking about different types or separate entities. For example, if you buy one chocolate cake for a party, then you wouldn’t pluralize the word. But if you bought one chocolate cake, one vanilla cake, and one strawberry cake OR 3 chocolate cakes, then you can make the word plural. And I believe it’s the same when you’re talking about different people’s vocabularies.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes, “surprised with that” is wrong.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn You’re surprised by something or someone doing something. You’re surprised at something or someone.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Your guesses are correct for 1 and 2, but I wouldn’t use either option for 3 because the sentence is unnatural. I would say:

I’m surprised that you’re choosing such an ugly dress.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes 👍🏾

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Sentence 1, but I would use “have” instead of “carry”.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn It doesn’t sound terribly unnatural, but I think “have” sounds better. Perhaps it is just personal preference 🤔

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Remove “can” and they’ll be natural.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn “Would” is incorrect here. There’s nothing grammatically wrong with “can” or “will”, but they’re not needed. I’ve noticed that English learners tend to overuse these words.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Both questions are natural. If the sentences are related because you’re talking about a certain topic, then “paragraph” is a little better, but “sentences” is fine as well. If they’re just a bunch of sentences that are unrelated or are not being used to talk about anything in detail, then “paragraph” wouldn’t be correct.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Only “look over” and “go over” work. “Look over” is the most natural.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn That’s fine I guess, but I still think “look over” is the best option.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn No, it doesn’t sound more natural. “So that” is not unnatural, but “so” by itself is better in my opinion. There’s no need for that extra word.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Can you provide some context?

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn I guess the sentence is natural, but it’s not how I would phrase it personally. And I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone express it like this. Usually when we think something is very small or even common, we say:

I don’t understand why you’re surprised.

Why are you surprised?

You’re surprised by/at that?

That’s unsurprising.

That’s not surprising (at all).

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn You need either “at” or “by” in the sentence, so 3 is a bit unnatural. I think 1 is the most natural in this case though. That’s what sounds best to me.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn It’s grammatically correct, but I find the second sentence a bit strange. Do you mean that her song has 10 million streams in total or was there actually a study done where someone concluded that 10 million people like the song?

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Okay well if that’s the case, then it’s natural! I just wanted to make sure I understood your intended meaning.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn I don’t think so. I’ve never heard of it, but I don’t listen to a lot of songs that are extremely popular. It’s not even on the Billboard Hot 100 though. So I think it’s safe to assume that it isn’t very well known here.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes, but I wouldn’t use it to describe a TV. People would most likely take that to mean the TV is large in size.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes, that’s fine.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn She’s a model for that company.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn 1 is unnatural. 3 is okay, but 2 is still better.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn “At” is the only one of those options that sounds natural to me.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes 👍🏾

There’s nothing grammatically wrong with “in” or “with”, but they sound a lot less natural than the others.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn There seems to be some debate about whether “a fan of her” is correct or not. But “a friend of me” is definitely incorrect and unnatural.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn They both sound pretty natural, but I think “a fan of hers” is just a bit more natural.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn 1 and 3

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn I don’t think there’s anything grammatically wrong with 1 and 3. You’re a fan of Taylor Swift as a person/singer. You support her. I think that’s why there’s some debate about whether “I’m a fan of her” is correct or not. But even if 1 and 3 are technically wrong, they still sound more natural than 2 and 4.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Again, there’s some debate about 1, but all the others are correct. 3 and 4 mean different things.

a picture of me = I am in this picture
a picture of mine = This picture belongs to me

That said though, 4 is pretty unnatural. It’s a lot better to just say “this is my picture” or “this picture is mine”.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn I think they’re equally natural. And actually after thinking more about it, I feel the same about “a fan of her” vs. “a fan of hers”.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn All of these are the same as “a fan of her/hers/him/his”. People debate over whether the object pronouns are correct. But we know for sure that the possessive pronouns are correct. I think it’s common for people to use both.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes, I think both 1 and 2 are used. But no, we do not use object pronouns when talking about friends. 3 and 5 are incorrect and unnatural just like “a friend of me”.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn a friend of Taylor Swift’s

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn 3 and 4 are definitely more common.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes, if you want the person to take a picture with you in it, you should use “of”. If you want someone to take the picture instead of you taking it yourself, then you should use “for”.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Only use “of” because you are going to be in the picture. In my second sentence, I meant if you want someone else to take a picture that you are not in, you should use “for”. For example, if you’re at a large concert and you can’t get an unobstructed photo of the singer, you might ask someone else to take a picture *for* you. You’re not going to be present in the photo. You want them to take a picture of something/someone else for you.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn No, “of” is not incorrect. It’s very simple. You can just say “can you take a picture of us”.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn No, “of us” is preferred. “For us” would probably be understood. But you might have someone ask “of what” in response because “for us” sounds like you do not want to be the subject of the photo.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Both people will be in the picture

bsloan7 · Answer

I think it’d be kind of hard and also a bit silly for two people to try to use one camera at the same time lol

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn They’re literally the same. There’s no difference regarding how natural they sound. “Do you want to take a picture together” and “let’s take a picture together” are probably more common though. “Can you take a picture with me/I take a picture with you” sound like something a fan would ask a celebrity.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn “With” is probably the best option, but it’d be better to just add a word or rephrase the sentence. “A lot of Chinese people make mistakes in this situation” is more natural.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn 2 sounds more natural to me.

bsloan7 · Answer

I guess “for”, but again it’d be better to rephrase. “XXX is a common mistake that Chinese people make” is more natural.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn Yes, that’s natural 👍🏾

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn That changes the meaning. Now you’re saying Chinese women especially think it’s bad to sleep around.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn People around the world tend to have double standards *about* men and women sleeping around.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn No, “about” works best here.

bsloan7 · Answer

@branduhn I think making it plural is better because there really are multiple double standards when it comes to people sleeping around.

Which plural form is more common?tuxedos vs tuxedoes See a translation

Tuxedos

Tuxedos

@branduhn “Tux” is more common, but I doubt people always say it.

@branduhn It just depends on how formal the occasion is. Most formal occasions do not require tuxes, no. But black-tie events always require tuxes.

@branduhn No, black-tie pretty much equates to evening wear. And I think I read somewhere that tuxedos shouldn’t be worn before 6 pm.

@branduhn Yes, that’s natural 👍🏾

@branduhn That changes the meaning. Now you’re saying Chinese women especially think it’s bad to sleep around.

@branduhn People around the world tend to have double standards *about* men and women sleeping around.

@branduhn No, “about” works best here.

@branduhn I think making it plural is better because there really are multiple double standards when it comes to people sleeping around.

Which plural form is more common?
tuxedos vs tuxedoes

@branduhn People around the world tend to have double standards about men and women sleeping around.