Fish is the plural of fish...

[FishFreak]

We should all!! You have some nice looking fish. Your pleco looks just like mine. Is that the one they call a common pleco?

 

[Arashi]

Thanks FishFreak! Actually I've been told that he's a Sailfin Plec, but I'm really not sure. He does have a really big sail though.

 

[Bigjula]

Fish refers to multiple fish "lots of fish"
Fishes refers to multiple types of fish "fishes from different areas have different needs"

Thats just in the US thought (on the other side of the pond they say maths and that buggs me but I deal with it)

I agree with the fish stuff but maths refers to mathematics not mathematic. Hang on maybe it should be mathes if it's different forms of mathematics.

 

[pete28]

i am a little confused at the goal this topic is trying to achieve? one topic said punctuation error one topic said using a word in its wrong tense. not to sound sarcastic but this isnt an english forum its a FRIENDLY forum dedicated to fish questions not peoples comments about others grammar or punctuation. who cares if you cant spell all that well im sure everyone can see the errors but are they that important. everyone is entitled to their opinion and i respect that but is it really tat important to post about.

 

[Fiddlesticks]

Yes fishies would be the cute plural of fish

 

[FishFreak]

I agree with pete28

 

[mrV]

For me, they are fish and fishes Then I can be sure, if we are talking about one fish or several fishes... I think I have to check that, can you only use form "fishes" when talking about more than one species. (Any linquist is present?)

Yes fishies would be the cute plural of fish

But shouldn't it then be "fishy" and then you can use in plural word "fishies"

fish -> fishes
fishy -> fishies

like candy -> candies

 

[MAM]

fish, fishes, potato, pot-ah-to, who cares. we all understand what you mean.

i personally like fishies , clears the whole problem up (sorry its a monday...)

 

[rain-]

I try to use them properly, but sometimes I say fishes when I mean just my bettas or something and fish when I mean all of my fishes (including different species).

But well, we understand each other even if the plurals are used in wrong places.

 

[FishFreak]

Yes, it's nice to use the two terms correctly but who's grading us anyway?! (OK besides me-JK) My personal favorite among all mentioned would have to be fishies used for all .

 

[StanTheBetta]

http/dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fish

n. pl. fish or fish·es

So as you can see either fish or fishes is correct.

 

[leanne]

Just to add another little delight in here... Its isn't a valid argument to link to a web site that isn't peer reviewed. Anyone can write anything on the internet and claim it is true. Just because it is in type doesn't mean its fact. A better link would have been on linking to the Oxford English Dictionary or a more grammatical (sp?) dictionary, the Fowler Dictionary of Grammar and punctuation.

not to sound sarcastic but this isnt an english forum its a FRIENDLY forum dedicated to fish questions not peoples comments about others grammar or punctuation. who cares if you cant spell all that well im sure everyone can see the errors but are they that important. everyone is entitled to their opinion and i respect that but is it really tat important to post about.

This is a friendly debate isn't it. Debate broadens your horisons and challenges views and opinions. It is good. A slanging match isn't; but this hasn't become that, which is good.

I think it was meant to be started as a light hearted thing but has got blown way out of proportion. Grammar is omportant, especially on the internet where we rely on puntuation and grammar for intonation and inflection. After all how many people have been offended by someone simply because they took a staement "the wrong way"? If it was worded properly to start with then there wouldn't have been a problem.

I have nothing more to add to this debate now. I am going to look at my fishies - I have been converted from fish

 

[StanTheBetta]

Well I hate to beat a dead horse but dictionary.com gets its entries from other databases such as: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. which states

\Fish\, n.; pl. Fishes,

Another source is:
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.