4 ms·
Just FYI, “A software” is grammatically incorrect, as Software is a mass noun, not a collective noun. “Softwares” isn’t a word, for instance. (Similar to “money
by ninkendo 4y ago
Just FYI, “A software” is grammatically incorrect, as Software is a mass noun, not a collective noun. “Softwares” isn’t a word, for instance. (Similar to “money”, in that you wouldn’t say “I have a money, you have a money, and together we have two monies”, you just say “I have money, you have money, together we have more money”.)
- worldsavior 4y agoCouldn't there be a collection of software? Hence softwares?
- ninkendo 4y agoYou can have a collection of programs. Or a collection of “pieces of software”. But not “a collection of softwares.” Software can be considered to be already plural in a sense, because it refers to the set of programs/procedures needed to perform a specific task. https://www.dailywritingtips.com/is-software-a-mass-noun/ https://www.dailywritingtips.com/is-software-a-mass-noun/ Similar with money, you can have multiple dollars, but you don’t have multiple monies. “Hardware” also works this way, but it’s probably more obvious to people. If I have some hardware, and I buy more hardware, I wouldn’t say “I now have two hardwares.”
- Chris2048 4y agoI'm sure somewhere in the world is an FX trader referring to "monies"..
- duped 4y agoA collection of software is software.
- loeg 4y agoThey're French.
- temp0826 4y agoMore on "monies" and plural mass nouns- https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/money-plural-usage-monies https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/money-plural-u...
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- dtgriscom 4y agohttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/monies https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/monies
- bluedino 4y agoPeople saying 'codes' and 'softwares' is one of my pet peeves. I'm an American, btw. It's just 'code' and 'software' to me. Now I just use it as a hint that the person isn't American, much like when someone says 'maths'.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- stonogo 4y ago"A code" or "our codes" to describe software packages is extremely common in scientific computing, even in America.
- tleilaxu 4y agoMaths is correct in the UK.
- bluedino 4y agoOf course - which is what I implied with my last sentence (that it is correct in places outside of the US)
- mistercheph 4y agoLanguage is an emergent phenomena that dictionaries and grammars attempt, imperfectly, to describe.
- TeMPOraL 4y agoBut their secondary purpose is to add inertia to the language, helping large societies to function. That is, even though dictionaries are descriptive, you shouldn't deviate from what they describe for no good reason. Unless you're a poet, if the dictionary says you're using the word wrong, you're most likely using the word wrong.