pair of trousers grammar
Think of items that are usually referred to in pluralâoften preceded by âpair ofâ or something similar, even when there is only one item: pliers, glasses, scissors, sunglasses, tweezers, etc. A. many B. much C. pair D. little - Grammar Quiz an outer garment for the lower part of the body, covering each leg separately. The Oxford English Dictionary defines plurale tantum, which is Latin for âplural only,â as a ânoun which is used only in plural form, or which is used only in plural form in a particular sense or senses.â Bifurcated items (things that can be divided into two), such as pants, fall into this category. 2. Do you have a pair of scissors I could use? There are more nouns: binoculars, headphones, pyjamas, scales, shorts, tights, trousers. Mignon Fogarty is the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips and the author of seven books on language, including the New York Times bestseller "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing." Her popular LinkedIn Learning courses help people write better to communicate better. Iâm going to buy myself a pair! A pair of shoes was stolen from the changing rooms last night. They were put on one at a time and then secured around the waist. Calling them a pair of pantaloons, or pants, as they were eventually known, made sense when there were two components. A pair of plaid trousers is in the closet. So the verb should be singular in this sentence. Remember that in both cases, the verb is plural: âMy jeans are old.â A shirt is long-sleeved (with sleeves going down to your hands) or short-sleeved (with sleeves ending above your elbow) and it normally closes with buttons. Conjugation Documents Grammar Dictionary Expressio. But hereâs one that repeatedly comes up, even among native speakers of English: Why on Earth do you say âa pair of pantsâ when the âpantsâ in question are only one item? Couple: a husband and wife or a boyfriend and girlfriend. a pair of trousers ": examples and translations in context. The waistband interfacing indicates the elegance of a pair of trousers. Translation Spell check Synonyms Conjugation. That old pair of trousers will be useful for doing jobs in the garden. Translate Pair of trousers. A search for "pair of trousers HAVE/HAS" reveals 80 examples with HAS and 20 with HAVE. According to some, the phrase âpair of pantsâ harkens back to the days when what constituted pantsâor pantaloons, as they were originally knownâconsisted of two separate items, one for each leg. A pair is two of something, but a pair can be singular or plural—it’s one of those odd English nouns (like "couple") that can be singular or plural depending on how you’re thinking of the people or items in question. This is because there are two objects that comprise a pair.