Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Fish or Fishes

Three fish but two fishes (i.e. mullet and speckled trout).
      In case you didn't know..."Fish" can be singular (e.g. "look at that fish over there") or plural (e.g. "look at those fish over there"). "Fishes", on the other hand, is plural but it refers to the number of species (not individuals of fish.  For example, if you caught a bass and a catfish, you could say, "Look at these fishes!"  If you caught two bass you would say "Look at these fish!"  Of course, fishes could also be used to describe the act of fishing (in the third person, singular present tense) such as "He fishes everyday."  Anyway, I just figured I would clear this up because I'll be using both words when I write about fish and fishes.

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