Quote:
Originally Posted by terpkristin
I was on the Metro last night, coming home from a jaunt in DC, when I saw this on a sign: "Is your SAVINGS safe?" I wanted to grab a picture of it so I could remember what company actually ran the ad, but by the time I grabbed my phone, the train had moved on (for anybody in the DC area, it was on the orange line, somewhere between Eastern Market and Rosslyn, I was heading west).
My general rule of thumb when it comes to grammar, at a first cut anyway, is, "does it sound right when you say it aloud?" "Is your savings safe" doesn't sound right to me when I say it out loud. I guess it comes down to if "savings" is singular or plural, and after giving it a lot of thought, I couldn't decide. "Savings account" is singular, but "savings" on its own is fairly ambiguous....any thoughts from the grammar crew here?
/tk
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Yeah, while I am right with you in this thread and with respect to the deplorable nature of grammar in general, I think this is one of those exceptional (set out as separate; not extraordinary) cases where popular usage may end up trumping a set rule. The use of savings as a singular is very widespread, and at some point, that turns it from wrong to right.
As crappy as that is.