The English Oracle

In 'large herds of elephant and buffalo', why elephant not elephants?

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Chapters
00:00 In 'Large Herds Of Elephant And Buffalo', Why Elephant Not Elephants?
00:19 Accepted Answer Score 8
00:44 Thank you

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Tags
#nouns #grammaticalnumber #irregular

#avk47



ACCEPTED ANSWER

Score 8


Elephant can be plural, like deer.

See the Merriam-Webster entry for elephant:

el·e·phant noun, often attributive \ˈe-lə-fənt\

plural elephants also elephant

Buffalo also can be plural, like deer (and elephant).

See the Merriam-Webster entry for buffalo:

buf·fa·lo noun, often attributive \ˈbə-fə-ˌlō\

plural buf·fa·lo or buf·fa·loes also buf·fa·los