Pair definition is - two corresponding things designed for use together. How to use pair in a sentence. The unmarked plural pair is used mainly in reference to inanimate objects or nonhumans: He has three pair (or pairs ) of loafers.
Two pair (or pairs ) of barn owls have nested on our property. The plural form of pair is pairs or pair. It has three pairs of true legs on the thorax and five pairs of fleshy prolegs on the abdomen.
Three pairs of US army shades turned on me, and a couple of American guns waggled discouragingly in my direction. People find pair confusing. 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. A plural verb is sometimes used with pair in the singular in senses and 2. In informal North American Englishsome people use pair as a plural form:three pair of shoes.
This is not considered correct in written English. If one is referring to hunting dogs, the plural of pair is pair. One has pair of hounds, not pairs.
ONE pair of shoes is two shoes, but it is ONE pair.
TWO pairs of shoes is made up of four shoes, but is TWO pairs. After a number other than one, pair itself can be either singular or plural , but the plural is now more common: I bought six pairs (or pair ) of shoes. He blushed when he saw all three pairs of eyes watching him.
She won with a pair of aces. Pair of trousers, pants, shorts, etc, is usually singular, and takes a singular verb. When you talk about more than one pair, use ‘pairs’. The verb that follows ‘pairs of…’ is always plural as we are talking about multiple pairs of something. Example: Several pairs of shoes are missing.
Pair nouns always have a plural form and never take the indefinite article a or an. But add another pair and you have pairs: Two pairs are brown. The type seven pair of jeans is non-standar at least in Br.
And here’s Garner’s: “The preferred plural of pair is pairs. American Heritage recognizes that while “pairs” is the more common plural form, “pair” is not incorrect. It qualifies that “pair” or “pairs” can be used after a number other than one, “but the plural is now more common: She bought six pairs (or pair) of stockings. From a prescriptive point of view, since pair is a singular noun, referring to two things (while pairs is the plural form of that noun), pair was is the correct way to say it: Hence: A pair was. The article is therefore grammatically correct.
Is it correct to say “two pairs of socks” or “two pair of socks”? The most common usage is “pairs,” but it might depend on whether you think of the things as a unit, like socks.
Pair is one of those collective nouns that take a singular or plural verb according to notional agreement. If you are thinking of the individuals in the pair , you will use a plural verb: A pair of elephants were grazing near the camp. According to Merriam-Webster, “the usual plural is pairs, when there is no preceding number or indicator of number (as several).
I have bought a pair of jeans. Note: A pair of is always followed by a plural noun. In cold weather you wear a pair of ___ on your hands. The number ‘three’ is by its very nature plural. In order for the two components of your phrase to accord with each other, both must be plural.
The first sentence is grammatically correct, but sounds funny because the noun in question ( pair ) is separated from the verb by a plural noun (shoes) which makes the reader do a double-take. The second sentence is grammatically correct, because the second clause is an independent clause. The endings of each noun indicate whether the noun (a person, place, idea or thing) is single (just one) or is in company (more than one).
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