Read This First!
McIntyre’s First Law:
Under the right circumstances, anything I tell you could be wrong.
Pitfall #5: Species v. Specie,
or,
How Much for Just That Species?
A species is a group of living things reproductively isolated from other groups. The plural of species is species. Specie means money, specifically, coined money.
Other false singulars: Phenomena is plural; its singular is phenomenon. Series is both singular and plural; the singular is not serie. Bacterium is the singular; bacteria is the plural. Biceps is the singular. Bicepses is the plural, though you can use biceps if you insist. There is no such thing as a bicep.
— Vonda
I blog here every Sunday, and irregularly otherwise as the spirit takes me.
My novel Dreamsnake is now available at Book View Cafe, serialized by the chapter on Sundays. You may buy the complete ebook for $4.99. (Current formats: Mobipocket/Palm, html, PDF).
At Book View Cafe you can also find The Moon and the Sun, as well as the faux-encyclopedia article, “The Natural History and Extinction of the People of the Sea,” that inspired it.
Recently added: “The Adventure of the Field Theorems,” a Sherlock Holmes scientific romance, in which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle hires Mr Sherlock Holmes to investigate crop circles, and Dr Watson demonstrates to Holmes the benefits of astronomy.
For signed hardcovers of The Moon and the Sun and my other SF novels, visit my website’s Basement Full of Books.
Tags: Pitfalls, Vonda N. McIntyre, Writers on Writing | Edit //
