[Joe Bloggs]

And that is...

Do you use singular of plural grammar for a pair of headphones?

I know, it should of be plural in principle, but it gets troublesome saying 'a pair of ???s' all the time, esp. when you can't tell between *a* pair and many pairs if you use the plural grammar...

Then there's the question of whether to add an 's' after the name of the headphone if it's plural... adding an 's' after some names is especially problematic--e.g. 'get some ER-4s!' when you mean to say an ER4S *or* 4P...

These are very serious matters, no? They strike at the heart of the core subject matter at Head-Fi!

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Bloggs Then there's the question of whether to add an 's' after the name of the headphone if it's plural... adding an 's' after some names is especially problematic--e.g. 'get some ER-4s!' when you mean to say an ER4S *or* 4P... These are very serious matters, no? They strike at the heart of the core subject matter at Head-Fi!

Use one of these jammies: '

Example: ER-4's

 

[stuartr]

plural plural plural.
HD580's; RS1's; ER-4S's; V-700 DJ's (

)

 

[redshifter]

single.

look at the label on your headphones. does it say sony mdr v6's? no, it says v6. besides, using the apostrophe in this case implies ownership or abbreviation, which is wrong on both counts.

plus when you use the singular you have the option of referring clearly to a single headphone or multiple headphones. when a single headphone is referred to as "headphones" it less clear if you are speaking of multiple headphones or not.

of course this leaves the question what does "a pair of headphones" mean? is it more exactly a sinlge headphone with a pair of transducers, or two headphones with 4 transducers total?

"i have a pair of headphones" does sound more correct than "i have a headphone", but that is purely through years of mistaken usage than logical grammar.

 

[MacDEF]

I generally consider the model to be plural, and use plural verbiage accordingly:

The 580 are made by Sennheiser.

The MDR-V6 are closed headphones.

The ER4P sound great out of a portable.

 

[Flasken]

I think clothing stores in Denmark might have had the same problem.. Instead of saying pants they say "a pant".

Perhaps we should all agree on a special head-fi language like the Danish jeans-sellers??

 

[pedxing]

"Pair of headphones" sound right. I have found grammar websites that has "Pair of scissors" as an example.

I don't know about model names of headphones. I have seen both conventions widely used as shown in both Macdef's and Stuartr's posting.

I found two random grammar web sites that claim that the plural version of proper nouns just have an "s" added to the end of them. For example, the plural version of Pedxing is Pedxings. Pedxing's is a possessive singular version. Pedxings' would be a plural possessive verion.

However, with model names of heapdhones, I have no clue. I guess HD580s would be plural. HD580's is a singular possessive. HD580s' would be plural possessive. However, if HD580 is an acronym, then HD580's is the proper plural form.

I probably have 10 million grammatical errors in this posting. I have no idea what i am talking about. Any nit-picky english majors on this board to correct us?

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Quote:

Originally posted by gloco Use one of these jammies: ' Example: ER-4's

Please don't. Those "jammies" are used to denote ownership, not plurality. Thanks...

Edit: D'Oh! I should have read more before posting. Redshifter already pointed out the problem with using apostrophes for plurals. Now back to our program...

 

[redshifter]

i will amend my statement by agreeing with macdef here. i checked sennheiser's website and he is indeed right.

so it is:
"i have a pair of v6", not "i have a pair of v6s/v6's/v6es".

"v6es" would be closest to correct if it were to be written that way. "cd1700s" the same. "v6's" is just wrong, no argument. however, since it is a model number to avoid confusion (is it a v6es or v6? the v6 comes in the sony es line?!?!) i always try to drop the plural "s" and like mac said assume the model number is plural by definition.

 

[secretagent44]

Quote:

Originally posted by redshifter besides, using the apostrophe in this case implies ownership or abbreviation, which is wrong on both counts.

Not exactly.
Rule 36d of the Bedford Handbook:
"Use an apostrophe and -s to pluralize numbers mentioned as numbers, letters mentioned as letters, words mentioned as words, and abbreviations.

example - Margarita skated nearly perfect figure 8's."


It also says that the MLA says that 8s would also be correct, but 's can indicate plurality.


Your neighborhood English major,
Joe

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Rule 36d of the Bedford Handbook: "Use an apostrophe and -s to pluralize numbers mentioned as numbers, letters mentioned as letters, words mentioned as words, and abbreviations. example - Margarita skated nearly perfect figure 8's."

in this case, however, the number is being mentioned as a model designation (which could include numbers, letters, and punctuation), not just a number.

 

[gaineso]

Quote:

Originally posted by redshifter in this case, however, the number is being mentioned as a model designation (which could include numbers, letters, and punctuation), not just a number.

In which case the above rule would still apply.

We've done very well for the past 6 or 7 months without this discussion. Why Now?????

 

[secretagent44]

The rule also includes J's, I.D.'s, VCR's, &c. The only exception listed is years, such as the 1980s. I don't dispute that "MDR-V6s" is correct, but "MDR-V6's" is also acceptable.

Joe

 

[gloco]

7506's

Don't like it?

TOUGH!

I think the 's just adds continuity or "flow" to a sentence, doesn't this read off as rather odd:

"I own a pair of V6 and would like to buy beyer pads for them"

Huh?

Or if you want to elaborate:

"I own a pair of V6 headphones and would like to buy beyer pads for them"

This is fine.

"I own a pair of V6's and would like to buy beyer pads for them"

Better...for us lazy types

 

[redshifter]

okay gloco, you do it your way, and i'll do it the correct way.

gaineso,
but the numbers aren't being mentioned as numbers, rather as the manufacturer's code for a product. check the rule again.