vocabulary

What Is the Plural of “No” and “Yes”?

/ Erin Servais / 7 Comments

What's the plural of "yes" and "no"?

Wondering how to spell the plural of no and yes? The answer may not be what you think.

The plural of no is noes.

The vote got thirteen noes.
How many noes will I get before I get a yes?
I heard noes from both candidates

The plural of yes is yeses.

The vote got thirteen yeses.
The yeses outnumbered the noes.
Three yeses later, and the idea is becoming a reality.

Note: Sometimes there is more than one correct way to spell a word. (Yes, I know. I see your jaw dropping.) This is true with yes. Merriam-Webster says you can also spell yeses as yesses and noes as nos.

Example: Yesses are often better than nos.

Apostrophes and plurals
You may see them spelled as no’s and yes’s. This is incorrect. Remember: apostrophes are almost never used to make plurals.

Erin Servais is a book editor, author coach, and founder of Dot and Dash, an author-services company. To see how she can help you with your writing project, email her at Erin@dotanddashllc.com.

 
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Is “Data” Singular or Plural?

/ Erin Servais / 3 Comments

 

Man with laptop. Word bubble says: Hey, girl. Let's check out some data together

Buckle up, folks. People have strong feelings about whether to treat “data” as a singular or plural noun. And we are going to talk all about it today.

Technically, “datum” is the singular version, and “data” is the plural version.

This means—technically—“data” takes a plural version of a verb.

Examples:

The data are correct.
The data show these numbers.
The data illustrate the findings.

But . . . these days, most people treat “data” as if it were singular. So they use a singular verb with it.

Examples:

The data is correct.
The data shows these numbers.
The data illustrates the findings.

 

 

This is where you have to make a decision. Are you going to be a stickler and fight for “data” as a plural, or are you going to buckle under peer pressure and treat it as singular?

You are entitled to your own thoughts about this. But guess what? Language does change. It evolves. For instance, we don’t use “decimate” to mean “to destroy by one tenth” anymore, right? Or what about “nice”? Once upon a time four centuries ago, it meant “foolish and ignorant.” And once upon a time seven centuries ago, “girl” meant a “small child,” whether they were female or male.

So if you want to treat “data” as a singular noun, go for it. It’s true that the times they are a-changing. And if you want to treat “data” as plural, go for it, too. You’re not incorrect, but know you may find people who think you are.

Erin Servais is a book editor, author coach, and founder of Dot and Dash LLC, an author-services company. She takes authors from the plotting and planning phase, all the way through editing and marketing. To learn more, check out her website: www.dotanddashllc.com. You can also email her at Erin@dotanddashllc.com.

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Compliment vs. Complement

/ Erin Servais / Leave a comment

compliment vs. complementCompliment and complement sound the same but are spelled differently, so it’s easy to get the two confused in your writing. In this blog post, we’ll discuss their definitions and learn how to remember the two spellings.

Compliment as a verb means saying something nice. As a noun, it means the nice thing that is said.

Examples
Verb: The rat complimented the mouse’s suspenders.
Noun: The rat’s compliment made the mouse smile.

Complement as a verb means to complete. As a noun, it means something that completes.

Examples
Verb: The mouse’s suspenders complemented his outfit.
Noun: The suspenders were the perfect complement to his outfit.

How to remember the difference
Complement sort of looks like the word complete, and it means to complete.

Think complement = complete.

You can also note that both words have an E in the middle (rather than an I).

Quiz
Fill in the blanks below with compliment or complement. The answers are below.

1. Rupert’s jeweled brooch _______s his look.
2. The expensive car was the _______ to her “perfect” life.
3. Tina _______ed her by saying, “You look hotter than a dead raccoon in the afternoon sun.”
4. Hilda hoped to get an A on the test, which would _______ her semester’s perfect grades.
5. The suitor’s _______ was her favorite part of their date.
Answers:
1. complement 2. complement 3. compliment 4. complement 5. compliment

Erin Servais is the founder of Dot and Dash, LLC, an author-services company focusing on women writers and offering a range of book editing, author coaching, and social media packages.

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Imply vs. Infer

/ Erin Servais / 2 Comments

imply vs infer

It’s easy to understand why people get imply and infer confused. Their meanings are related and similar. In this post, I will explain what these two words mean and show you how you can remember the difference between the two.

imply: to suggest or express something in an indirect way

For example, if you are talking to your friend, and you notice their breath reeks of garlic and onions, you may pull out a tin of mints and say “Want one?” as a way of expressing to them indirectly that their breath stinks. In this case, you are implying they have smelly breath.

infer: to conclude, especially from an indirect suggestion

For example, if you just ate garlic and onions for lunch, and your friend asks you if you want a mint, you could infer from their indirect suggestion that you have smelly breath.

Memory aid
When you infer, you are taking in information to analyze in order to come to a conclusion.

So taking in information = infer since they both use in.

You can just remember that imply means the opposite.

With imply, you are putting out suggestions.

With infer, you are taking in information.

Quiz:
Choose either imply or infer for the spaces below.

  1. Trixie yawned and yawned in order to _____ to her guests that it was late and she wanted them to leave.
  2. Trixie looked at her failing quiz grades and _____ed she needed to study really hard for the final.
  3. Trixie stopped answering Brad’s texts, trying to _____ that she didn’t want to talk to him anymore.
  4. Brad gave Trixie flowers and asked what she was doing Friday night, _____ing he wanted to go on a date with her.
  5. When her aunt asked whether she ever wanted kids, Trixie burst out laughing. Her aunt _____ed her answer was no.

1) imply; 2) inferred; 3) imply 4) implying; 5) inferred

Erin Servais is the founder of Dot and Dash, LLC, an author-services company focusing on women writers and offering a range of book editing, author coaching, and social media packages.

Sign up for the Dot and Dash newsletter to get writing tips and tricks and exclusive deals.  

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I.E. vs. E.G.

/ Erin Servais / 3 Comments

i.e. versus e.g.

I.e. and e.g. are abbreviations people use to give more information about a topic. In this post you will learn what i.e. and e.g. mean, their Latin root words, and how to tell them apart using a mnemonic device.

i.e. = in other words

The abbreviation i.e. comes from the Latin words id est, which means that is. We use it to give more details about something and to clarify.

Example: Liza has only one hobby (i.e., bowling).

Here we say that Liza has only one hobby, and we clarify that her one hobby is bowling. We could also say: Liza has only one hobby, in other words, bowling.

Note that the explanation that comes after i.e. can be the only answer.

e.g. = example

The abbreviation e.g. comes from the Latin phrase exempli gratia, which means for the sake of example. We use it to give examples of something.

Example: Stacy saw many animals at the zoo, e.g., flamingos, giraffes, and unicorns.

Here we give examples of what animals Stacy saw at the zoo. She saw flamingos, giraffes, and unicorns, but those weren’t the only animals she saw. Those are examples of just some of the many animals she saw. Unlike with i.e., the explanation that comes after e.g. is only one or more of the possible answers.

Mnemonic Device

To remember what they mean, we’re going to say i.e. = in other words because they both start with the letter I, and e.g. = example because they both start with the letter E.

i.e. equals in other words; e.g. equals example

Quiz

Choose either i.e. or e.g. to fill in the spaces below. The answers are at the end.

  • The unicorn is skilled at hundreds of games, _____, poker, charades, and field hockey.
  • Unicorns are found in the wild in only one region, _____, the Philippines.
  • Unicorns can do many jobs (_____, accountant, glassblower, fitness coach, and talk show host).
  • Sal the unicorn has a favorite party trick (_____, blowing glitter from his horn).

Answers: 1) e.g. 2) i.e. 3) e.g. 4) i.e.

Erin Servais is a book editor, author coach, and owner of Dot and Dash LLC, an author-services company focused on helping women author-entrepreneurs reach their publishing goals. To learn more about how she can help you, no matter where you are on your writing adventure, check out her site: Dot and Dash LLC. There, you can also read her blog about writing: Dot and Dash blog.

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