Is there any instances where a s is added to children? I know if it is more than one child in numbers, you'd say children, but if you were grouping children from different catagories, saying something like, 'the children of the world' meaning White children, Black children, toddlers, handicapped children, etc, would you say childrens of the world?
Posts: 6616 | Location: Land of Lincoln, USA | Registered: 07-04-02
No. The only correct way to have an S at the end is after an apostrophe. The word children is plural, the same way brethren and oxen are plurals. They come from Old English, if I remember correctly. There are very few plurals left in English that use that construction.
Posts: 16633 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
No Now, why do we say 'peoples of the world' ? The answer to that is that children are all the same in our thinking, just children. When we say 'peoples' we are using the word 'people' as we might use the word 'race'. We mean that there are different peoples, distinguishable by race or culture.
When we say 'peoples' we are using the word 'people' as we might use the word 'race'. We mean that there are different peoples, distinguishable by race or culture.
Wouldn't that be the same for children?
Thanks Dorian. Sometimes these words are a little confusing.
Posts: 6616 | Location: Land of Lincoln, USA | Registered: 07-04-02
Confusion can be caused because we often hear constructions such as "children's hour" (a popular radio programme on UK radio from way back) or "children's play area", and it's easy to assume that "childrens" must be a plural noun. It isn't, but when I used to teach English to French kids as part of my degree course, I had quite a job convincing one particular boy that such was not the case. After all, a common batle-cry heard still today - there was even a pop-song or a coca-cola advert or something that used it - is "Children of the world unite" is it not?
Posts: 733 | Location: Paris | Registered: 04-28-03
When we say 'peoples' we are using the word 'people' as we might use the word 'race'. We mean that there are different peoples, distinguishable by race or culture.
Wouldn't that be the same for children?
No, not even for the children of the peoples of the world
Now, why do we say 'peoples of the world' ? 
The answer to that is that children are all the same in our thinking, just children. When we say 'peoples' we are using the word 'people' as we might use the word 'race'. We mean that there are different peoples, distinguishable by race or culture.
