Tornado or Tornadoes ?

lexia

Am labelling up Stewart's latest pictures for posting on his website.

No good asking his advice - he's a painter not a writer ;)

So - Tornados or Toradoes for the plural of Tornado ? What you think ? Neither looks right to me - and I don't want Americanisms creeping in !

(Potatos, potatoes, tomatos, tomatoes etc )

www.splattart.web.officelive.com - just a plug for all the website work I am doing ! :)

collide-o-scope

The definitive answer I think is that Telstar was a hit for The Tornados ;)

lexia

ah ...

But was their name Tornados referring to the windy type and if so is that the same as the plane type ?

collide-o-scope

Well OK then here's a real definitive answer that will help you not a jot :-D

Both plural inflected forms (tornados and tornadoes) are acceptable and in current use.

lexia

Well thanks very much - that was most helpful. Only thing I need to know now is - currently in use by whom ? ;)

dorothyd

I think either will be right, Lexia. Personally I would go with tornadoes but it's personal choice.

Woll22

Tornado is the singular
Tornadoes is the plural means that there was more than one. It might help to get a book of English grammar to consult if you are at all uncertain, not that we mind answering your questions but its like a dictionary, it is a good idea to have access to one, also a Roget's Thesaurus. We all have moments when we have niggling doubts about our grammar. I am forever hearing reporters using the wrong tense. For instance, on more than one occasion, I heard someone say no-one were injured when it should be nobody was injured. Sometimes it makes me wonder what school they attended and imagine my English teacher's reaction. I feel if people are going to give their reports, they should be ultra careful to ensure their English is as perfect as possible. Also I think that foreigners speak our language better than the English so I imagine their teachers must have been pretty sharp in picking up their errors. We all make howlers from time to time mind you.

dorothyd

I don't own a Thesaurus or a book on English grammar, Woll, because mostly it comes natural to writers to use the right terms. If not, you use the Internet ... and who really needs a Thesaurus? Imagination works far better! My office is full of books, but only 1 dictionary. The big one, the Shorter English Oxford Dictionary, vols 1 and 2, live in the lounge and are used for crossword clues ...

Baggy Books

[quote=Woll22]We all make howlers from time to time [/quote]

Indeed!

Jenny

Yes. :)

dorothyd

and some of them are able to be picked up by those who Google us, too! We need to be v e r y careful ...

Dwight

I'd like to be able to help, but alas ;) .