[J.Scott]

It is the word for the thing on the front of the camera. You know - it is that tube thing with different pieces of ground glass inside.

Personally - I spell it LENS for the singular form and LENSES for the plural.

I have seen various spellings of the word and wonder why - is it a dialect issue - something lost in translation to English? I am just curious.

[Peter Zack]

You mean Lenese or Lense. How about aperature or aparature. I guess there's lots of non native English speakers doing their best. Not a big issue really. I'd rather see them contribute than let a little spelling stop them from joining in. Geez you should see my son's chats. English grammar and spelling is old news.

[Buschmaster]

As long as you're honestly trying, who cares?

At least the posts don't look like:
"lol. omg this rox. lol. idk if u luv it, but i do. lol."

[JCSullivan]

I grew up writing lense and lenses however, it matters not, as long as the point gets across AND some idiot or default google dictionary doesn't try to tell me it is Lens and Lenses.

English is an international language and you're bound to find different spelling, usage and pronunciation

[Gooshin]

i say colour

americans say color

same thing for lenses

i can write lense and not feel bad about it , but then spell check underlines it....

[rormeister]

And we Americans also park our cars in a "Driveway" and drive them in a "Parkway"....very silly.

[Gooshin]

And we Americans also park our cars in a "Driveway" and drive them in a "Parkway"....very silly.

the silliest thing i know of is the whole shipment/cargo thing


when you send something by SHIP, you call it a CARgo

when you send something by CAR/TRUCK you call it a SHIPment

It is the word for the thing on the front of the camera. You know - it is that tube thing with different pieces of ground glass inside.

Personally - I spell it LENS for the singular form and LENSES for the plural.

I have seen various spellings of the word and wonder why - is it a dialect issue - something lost in translation to English? I am just curious.

If you go to Webster.com and plug in Lenses, this is what you'll get.

lenses
2 entries found.

lens[1,noun]lens[2,transitive verb]



Main Entry: lens
Pronunciation: \ˈlenz\
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin lent-, lens, from Latin, lentil; from its shape
Date: 1673
1 a: a piece of transparent material (as glass) that has two opposite regular surfaces either both curved or one curved and the other plane and that is used either singly or combined in an optical instrument for forming an image by focusing rays of light b: a combination of two or more simple lenses c: a piece of glass or plastic used (as in safety goggles or sunglasses) to protect the eye
2: a device for directing or focusing radiation other than light (as sound waves, radio microwaves, or electrons)
3: something shaped like a biconvex optical lens <lens of sandstone>
4: a highly transparent biconvex lens-shaped or nearly spherical body in the eye that focuses light rays (as upon the retina) — see eye illustration
5: something that facilitates and influences perception, comprehension, or evaluation <viewing the current legal battle…through partisan lenses— New Republic>
6: gravitational lens
— lensed \ˈlenzd\ adjective
— lens·less \ˈlenz-ləs\ adjective



I think that Lens is both singular and plural.

[stewart_photo]

...(snip) Personally - I spell it LENS for the singular form and LENSES for the plural. (snip)...

Standard English grammar rules for plural noun forms apply. The plural form of most nouns is created simply by adding the letter "s." However, words that end in -ch, x, s or s-like sounds (sibilant sounds), however, require an -es for the plural. Examples include...

more than one gas = gases
more than one bus = buses
more than one kiss = kisses
more than one Jones = Joneses
more than one glass = glasses
more than one dish = dishes
more than one box = boxes
more than one phase = phases

So, more than one lens = lenses. Therefore, your spellings are correct.

stewart

[JCSullivan]

English grammar rules only work some of the time. You'll always find exceptions: AUE: Exceptions to the rule 'I before E except after C'

[daacon]

I am a) a terrible typist b) spelling not my strong suit c) brain works much faster than my fingers (thank gawd) often post stuff with words missing but I usually get my point across and usually re-read the post after and edit any obvious missing words or misspelled ones.

Now I am going to put on my favorite coloured Tuque go out to Timmies , hoping for a chinook , write them a check for a double double using homo milk , come home make some poutine and sit on my chesterfield trying not be be a hoser eh

[Gooshin]

I am a) a terrible typist b) spelling not my strong suit c) brain works much faster than my fingers (thank gawd) often post stuff with words missing but I usually get my point across and usually re-read the post after and edit any obvious missing words or misspelled ones.

Now I am going to put on my favorite coloured Tuque go out to Timmies , hoping for a chinook , write them a check for a double double using homo milk , come home make some poutine and sit on my chesterfield trying not be be a hoser eh

dude, maybe in the west end...

[JCSullivan]

Wore my tuque to Ohio once, I was told they called it a tobogan.

[cardinal43]

My only hang up is using "insure" when it should be "ensure". But what do I know, I grew up is Mississippi, ya'll.

[J.Scott]

Thanks to everyone that responded.

I hope no one took offense to this post. Like I said I am just curious. I am always interested in the complexity and evolution of the English language. Honestly, I have no plans to scold anyone for spelling as I am the worlds worst!

I think the only true authority would be the famous Oxford English Dictionary (OED); all others pale by comparison and besides, it was the first one. Copies of this are rather expensive - well beyond my financial means. Besides, I suffer from an acute and chronic case of LBA and can't even imagine buying $1200 dictionaries!