[readermail]
Dear Pamie,
But what about “condos“?
thanks,
Felisa
[/readermail]
Oh. Yeah. And just like that I thought about “Nachos.” Hmm.
Okay, I’m turning comments on, for all the Wonder Killers out there.
Hey, my new book came out today. Perhaps you would like to go rescue one from the book pound. They’re not all no-kill shelters, you know.
Well, condo is an abbreviation, no? And the word nacho is… not strictly english??I really, really want the rule to work.
That was my knee-jerk explanation, too. But I don’t know.
maybe it’s because “condo” is an abbreviation of condominium? and nacho would be considered a form of slang that is now part of regular daily English? i’m no English nerd so i didn’t even remember that dang rule in the first place. sheesh!
Hobos.
And the word “Cheetos” is a proper name. Anything goes with proper names.”Cheetoes.” Yeah, I would not eat those.
I went to rescue your book today, but, sadly, I live in a land where there is no grand bookstore such as Barnes and Noble within a reasonable driving distance from which I was able to find your novel. However, not completely discouraged, I visited the magical land that is amazon.com and triumphantly adopted a lone copy. I shall give it a good home.
Wait, but isn’t your possibly made-up rule more about which types of words *never* add the e, rather than which kinds of words always DO? Are there any -io or -eo words that add an e when pluralized? I can’t think of any, but, yes, there are plenty of consonant-before-the-o words that don’t.solosphotosyo-yoslottoshomos
Aw, man. According to this, sometimes it can be both!
The plurals of words ending in -o are formed by either adding -s or by adding -es. The plurals of many words can be formed either way. To determine whether a particular word ends in -s or -es (or if the word can be spelled either way), check your dictionary or the list below. There are two helpful rules:a. All words that end in a vowel plus -o (-ao, -eo, -io, -oo, -uo) have plurals that end in just -s:stereo–stereosstudio–studiosduo–duosb. All musical terms ending in -o have plurals ending in just -s.piano–pianoscello–cellossolo–solosc. Plural forms of words ending in -o:-osalbinosarmadillosautosbravosbroncoscantoscasinoscombosgazebosinfernoskimonoslogosmaraschinosponchossombrerostacostorsostobaccostypos-oesechoesembargoesheroespotatoestomatoestorpedoesvetoesboth:avocados/oesbuffaloes/oscargoes/osdesperadoes/osdodoes/osdominoes/osghettos/oesgrottoes/oshoboes/osinnuendoes/oslassos/oesmangoes/osmosquitoes/osmottoes/osmulattos/oesnoes/ospalmettos/oespeccadilloes/ostornadoes/osvolcanoes/oszeros/oes
And this website just gave up entirely: “Most nouns ending in o add s. However, some add es. There is no rule to follow here.”Hmmm. Ribon’s Rule. I like the sound of that.
Well, a lot of the words that don’t add -es are from Italian or Spanish (and in Italian, anyway, you wouldn’t add -s to make them plural, you would change the vowel at the end). And photo, combo and homo (which isn’t a word, it’s a prefix) don’t count because they’re abbreviations.But anyway, this is English – rules are made to be broken because our language is a mishmash of other languages.
So, aside from stalking you while you stalk the bookstores… how do we get a signed book?
How come I was able to rescue your book and read it before today (and loved it, which I already told you) I told people at work about it and a few people want to borrow it I said NO Pamie needs money to get air conditioning in her hot hot house.Just tryin to help, yo.
Hi Pamie,I just bought your old book(because I’m a million miles behind) because I recognized you from when you recapped my beloved Gilmore Girls and also because I read your website sometimes.Anyway, I read the whole thing in a day because I didn’t put it down and I loved it, and I thought it was really funny.In summary, you rock.Thanks,Nosila
How about you ask Sars? She probably has an opinion!
Ribon’s Rule: Add an -es when confronted with consonants. Or when it wins you a Scrabble game.
I found and “adopted” the book this weekend at Borders in the Central Valley that only had 2 copies left. They did not have Why Girls are Wierd which was disappointing. Good luck.
You just 15 english language lessons. Congratulations, you’re the most educated person in America. [=
Technically, pamie, your advice to stee’s mom was correct, but you gave the wrong reason… radios wouldn’t have an “e” because there is a vowel before the “o.” Had you said it that way instead of bringing up all those consonants, you’d have sufficiently killed wonder and not been gobsmacked by reader mail. :-)Now you – and we all – know.
You know that airconditioner thing you dream about that’s like $700 on amazon? I saw it at SAMS club for $350!
As a very recent uni grad with a degree in English, I’m very ashamed that I’ve already forgotten the rules. Thank God for Spell Check. Now I’m hunting down my Strunk & White.
I love your new book! Congratulations.
Your new book is wonderful, Pamie. I devoured it in one afternoon. Mmmm…And like Libragirl, there will be no loaning of the book to me mates. Only in many instances, this will mean that I’ll be buying several copies myself to give them out. You owe me a drink.
Looking forward to adopting my copy! We’ll do what we can to help fund that air conditioning gizmo.
“Ribon’s Rule: Add an -es when confronted with consonants. Or when it wins you a Scrabble game.”Works for me.English be hard, y’all.Looking forward to rescuing two copies of “Why Moms Are Weird” as soon as I can. One for me and one for BookCrossing.com.
I also read your book in one sitting. Now I’m going to recommend it to my book club. No one should be in a house without air conditioning.
Bought the book. But I am cheap and Super Saver Shipping has not delivered it to me yet.grammar rules rule
Already adopted the new book from Amazon, and have already finished it! Loved it, loved it, loved it. I’ll say this all wrong, but I just found the characters to have so much….dimension? They were very richly developed. Can’t wait for the next one already (no pressure!).
The nice people at Amazon sent me your book over a week early – yay! I am so looking forward to reading it. I have great memories of reading it on the plane to Ireland, and laughing like an idiot the whole time.
Aw, you guys! Thank you to everybody who bought the book, liked the book, or is planning on buying the book and liking the book.As for a tour, it’s all still being planned out, and other than the Topeka date in September, nothing has been confirmed. But plans are in motion!
Ok I don’t think there’s any wonder left to kill around here. I do want to say English is a bit bizarre, and I don’t see me ever contemplating the the mysterious extinction of the dodoes, dodos possibly, but not the dodoes.Pamie I vote your book tour lands you in Atlanta! I’ve gotten an email from you before that left me smiling for a week. I don’t know what kind of high I’d be on from meeting you in person…
Yey! I just ordered your book from Amazon (both of them). It’s coming to my country, Venezuela, in about 6 days. I can wait!
WMAW: Bought it last week, tried the “savor it so it doesn’t end” method but damn it was so good! And now it’s over, and I’m sad.
Hey im still waiting on UK amazon to get its ass into gear and send me why moms are weird. Waiting for the postie each day. Im wooing my local bookstore’s fiction buyer with my own copy of ‘girls’ in the hope that she’ll stock the fabulous thing when its finally released on this side of the pond, apparently its next year! Erk. When this inevitably happens (how can it not, your book rocks, a friend rang me in the middle of the night to thank me for lending it to her when she got to the ‘big boobs post’ part!) i shall go and rearrange the shelves to make sure its face out and do a ‘bookseller recommends’.Workin for the cause me
Hey im still waiting on UK amazon to get its ass into gear and send me why moms are weird. Waiting for the postie each day. Im wooing my local bookstore’s fiction buyer with my own copy of ‘girls’ in the hope that she’ll stock the fabulous thing when its finally released on this side of the pond, apparently its next year! Erk. When this inevitably happens (how can it not, your book rocks, a friend rang me in the middle of the night to thank me for lending it to her when she got to the ‘big boobs post’ part!) i shall go and rearrange the shelves to make sure its face out and do a ‘bookseller recommends’.Workin for the cause me
Hey, I was at a Barnes & Nobles wondering what books I should buy that I won’t read for weeks at least because I WILL be strong and make it through the ones already on my list, and after picking up some Kazuo Ishiguro and a memoir by a victim of Munchausen’s by proxy, I decided I needed lighter fare, remembered that you write books, and picked up both Why Girls Are Weird and Why Moms Are Weird. I look forward to reading them, and not just because it’ll mean I have made it several books closer to my 50-books-this-year goal. :)
I bought your book last night. I wanted to start reading it last night but was afraid I would not be able to stop so I am saving it for the weekend. Cannot wait to read it! LOVED your first.ps, WTF about the air conditioning, babe! It was 100++ in the ATL GA today!
Read both of your books and loved them! Read them *out loud* to my mother and SHE loved them. That’s saying a lot-she doesn’t like much these days…Anyway, if you can make it to Topeka, you could totally head north and come to Omaha. I’d stalk you….I mean come and have you sign my books…
Congratulations on “Why Moms are Weird” coming out, Pamie.
Finished your book on the airplane yesterday. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous after the first few chapters, but the middle and end were absolutely fabulous and redeeming. It isn’t that I thought the writing or story was bad, but rather that the story was hitting a bit too close to home to be funny for me.Regardless, I love your writing, and your blog!
Mr Amazon UK finally delivered your book Friday and i ended up reading it in two sittings this weekend – despite having a bad back that means it hurts to sit down!I like how you named a chapter after a Weezer song, and managed to discuss Rivers’ celibacy!It was fab. As an ex-bookseller, im frustrated with generic boundaries. Ive always found it annoying that near enough any female-centred female that isnt expressively ‘literary fiction’ is immediately classed as ‘chick-lit’ and ghettoises it, which I suspect yours is going to be, when it is far from it. I dont think its particularly ‘vagina’ as Irvin put it. Sure, some of its about ‘love’ and it has a pastel front cover. But is it rom-com? I dont know. Its a witty (i love the male-female conversation your characters have, its like i would dream to have with a man), but also intriguing, with complex characters, situations that often dont go where you imgaine, and really make me think (i kept going off on rambling thoughts around a point you were making). Its also quite emotionally raw at times, and made me tear up as well as laugh out loud. It also felt more developed away from your blog-writing, i didnt always assume Benny was you, unlike in the first book (which i also loved by the way).Oh, i cant describe it properly, why i loved it, but i did, i was caught up its world for a couple of days, something i rarely do now. Maybe ill try and boil it down and write my first amazon review.Thanks
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