Gene and everyone,

I followed the thread concerning plural bird names wih some interest.
Usually I'm very careful to always use proper English. But I have a
real problem with plurals of *proper names*.

The above sentence reminds me. Should Paul Revere have said: "The
Englishes are coming!..."? (Now there's a punctuation delema. I'm
sure I've done it wrong, but I certainly can't put the question mark
*inside* the quotation marks, can I?)

I don't like Joneses (or Ross's). Killdeers seems as bad as Albatrosses
to me. Titmouses should be the plural of Titmouse (not Titmice). Changing
Goose to the plural Geese is bad for computer search routines.

(Should I have put the above words in single or double quotes? I.e.,
I don't like 'Joneses' (or 'Ross's').).

The point is, English grammar is difficult even for those who paid
attention in school! And the language *is* changing. ('Further' as a
proper replacement for 'farther' (distance); the word 'thru' as a
proper substitute for 'through;' 'till' meaning 'until' Yuch! But I
digress.)

(Did I punctuate the above sentences correctly? When language usage is so
complicated that few can speak or write correctly, what good is it?)

If I understand, these are correct:

Western Gulls are common.
Mew and Western gulls are common.
Mew Gulls and Western Gulls are common.

And these would be incorrect:

Western Gull is common. (Since the gull really is plural, it should have an
added 's' , and the verb needs to agree: it should be 'are.')
Mew and Western Gulls are common. (Gull isn't a proper name when used in a
list and shouldn't be capitalized?)

thanks,

Ignorant in Oregon

--
Greg Gillson <gregg at tdd.hbo.nec.com>