Film is film,

[Spleenrippa]

Sorry, but even in American English the plural of 'film' is 'films', as in how many films did you see last year?

In reference to movies, perhaps...
But if we use 'films' in reference to MF or 35mm, and you ask someone, "how many films are in your fridge right now?" Aren't they going to be a bit confused as to whether you're asking about the number of rolls or different brands of film?

 

[user237428934]

If you find some misspellings in my posts, you may keep them 🙂

 

[scottwallick]

Film can be a countable or uncountable noun, at least in the realm of US English.

Ref. http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/reading-writing/on-line/countable.html

Apologies to the OT.

 

[coelacanth]

I consider "films" OK to be used when it's referring to movies and short for "xx of film" in verval or casual written conversation.

It's funny how quickly this topic got fired up and number of people reading this thread jumped. Kinda glad to see people still care about language. I was once a Grammar Nazi when I lived in Japan (of course to Japanese). When I moved to San Francisco, I guess I became Grammar Hippie. 😛

 

[Finder]

Language is evolutionary. So if you are wrong, you just need to get enough other people to be wrong with you in order to be right.

 

[Roger Hicks]

haha yes, i should have been more specific 🙂

but gear, when used to mean one's photographic related equipment or stuff i.e the way its generally used on this forum, is never gears.

thanks for the "equipments" examples. i think the dates say it all 😉

OK: so some usages are denied because they're too recent, and have not stood the test of time, and others are rejected because they're too old? Only one dialect of English as spoken in one region from 1955 to 1965 is to be accepted?

The OED doesn't repeat every usage of the word, up to the present day. They just quote early usages to show that it was established -- across the best part of a century in this case.

@Spleenrippa: OED again, and this time I'm not going to be suckered into copy-typing examples.

Cheers,

R.

 

[antiquark]

Help the language evolve... If it's a plural, stick an 's' at the end! Always!

 

[coelacanth]

Language is evolutionary. So if you are wrong, you just need to get enough other people to be wrong with you in order to be right.

Precisely/exactly my point.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Help the language evolve... If it's a plural, stick an 's' at the end! Always!

No doubt there are many mans, womans and childs who would agree with you. Sheeps might, too, if they could think and speak English.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Sparrow]

Help the language evolve... If it's a plural, stick an 's' at the end! Always!

Oh yes, that should be the top of everyone's agendums 🙂

 

[Finder]

Help the language evolve... If it's a plural, stick an 's' at the end! Always!

Or better yet, don't even change it like "data."

 

[J J Kapsberger]

Or better yet, don't even change it like "data."

Data is plural of datum. (Or did I just step into your trap?)

 

[antiquark]

No doubt there are many mans, womans and childs who would agree with you. Sheeps might, too, if they could think and speak English.

I agree, we must do it for the childs!

 

[Ducky]

As much as I like this forum, this is getting to be as much as I can take. There's a word, take. If I take a take (photo), then take another take, did I take takes? Much as I'd like to see the answer(s), I'm outa here.
Reminds of wood chucks chucking wood, is a pile of firewood firewoods.

 

[crawdiddy]

Transatlantic Triangular Trade

Transatlantic Triangular Trade

Act 36&37 Vict. (Act of Parliament) 1873, 'Equipments which are prima facie evidence of a Vessel being engaged in the Slave Trade'

Cheers,

R.

OK, this is even more off-off-topic, and for that I apoligize in advance.

The State of Texas reviews public school textbooks every 10 years, and lately the committee has been taken over by right wing idealogues. This year they decided to replace the term "Slave Trade" in history books with "Transatlantic Triangular Trade," I suppose because it sounds much less unpleasant. How's that for revisionism? They also voted to deemphasize the role of Thomas Jefferson, due to his belief in separation of church and state.

 

[MartinP]

there's a difference between exact, precise and accurate

Of course...

Exact is the same
Precise is to a high level of precision (eg 1,552734345 mm instead of 1,5mm - even though the distance might be something else)
Accurate means the 'thing' is approaching the real value, even where the precision of the measurement may not be large (eg. 2mm is more accurate than 1,246715425mm if the real distance is actually 1,9mm, even though the wrong value is more precise)

Precision and accuracy may not actually be related . . . . !

 

[antiquark]

The State of Texas reviews public school textbooks every 10 years, and lately the committee has been taken over by right wing idealogues. This year they decided to replace the term "Slave Trade" in history books with "Transatlantic Triangular Trade,"

Sort of like renaming "torture" to "enhanced interrogation techniques."

 

[RayPA]

Film is film. (Unless it's Ektar 100, then it's a pain in the ass.)


/

 

[Sparrow]

OK, this is even more off-off-topic, and for that I apoligize in advance.

The State of Texas reviews public school textbooks every 10 years, and lately the committee has been taken over by right wing idealogues. This year they decided to replace the term "Slave Trade" in history books with "Transatlantic Triangular Trade," I suppose because it sounds much less unpleasant. How's that for revisionism? They also voted to deemphasize the role of Thomas Jefferson, due to his belief in separation of church and state.

I believe "The Triangular Trade" was a euphemism emanating from Bristol in the 18c

Deemphasize, Mmm

 

[bigeye]

My English-Hungarian phrasebook lists, "How many films did you shoot yesterday?" as "A légpárnás hajóm tele van angolnákkal?"