The movie industry has the Oscars. The TV industry has the Emmys. The music industry has the Grammys.
(Photo by Thomas Hawk)
Every year, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences hands out the Grammy Awards. This year the Grammy Awards are on Sunday, February 12. The awards are for outstanding achievement in all areas of the American music industry (musicians, songwriters, producers, engineers, etc.) The award handed to the winners is a statuette of a gramophone. (The gramophone was an early type of record player invented by Thomas Edison.)
Why do we call the awards show the Grammys, and not the Grammies?
By now all of you know the ‘rules’ for plural nouns. If a noun ends in consonant + y, the plural is made by changing the y to an i and adding -es:
baby — babies
party — parties
candy — candies
berry — berries
party — parties
candy — candies
berry — berries
So, shouldn’t it be the Grammies?
No! There is an exception to every rule in English. The ‘rule’ does not apply to PROPER NOUNS!
A proper noun is the NAME of a person, place, or thing, and it always starts with a capital letter. Grammy is the name of the prize and the award show on TV. The only way to make proper noun plural is to add -s or -es, depending on the final letter of the noun.
The plural of Grammy is Grammys. The plural of Blackberry is Blackberrys. The Emmy awards are called the Emmys, not the Emmies.
This is also why the hockey team in Toronto is called the Maple Leafs, not the Maple Leaves.
Can you think of more proper nouns that don’t follow the ‘rules’?
Melanie is a TESL-certified English teacher. She lives near Toronto, Canada. Through her blog, videos, podcasts, and social media, she helps thousands of people around the world improve their English. She makes English a little less confusing and a little more fun! She also helps people understand Canadian and American culture. She believes that natural interaction with a native speaker helps people practice what they have learned and builds their confidence with English!
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