This week I have a quick and dirty tip about the word hair.

A medium middle about misusing the words so and very.

And a tidbit about why we say someone is on an even keel.

And now onto the word pair.

A reader named Maggie asked whether one pair of jeans is singular or plural.

In other words, should she say that one pair of jeans is on the chair or one pair of jeans

are on the chair?

People often find pair confusing.

Is it singular or plural?

A pair is two of something, but a pair can be either singular or plural.

It's one of those odd English nouns, like couple, that can be singular or plural depending

on how you're thinking of the people or items in question.

For example, if you have two similar dogs entered into a dog show by the same owner, you

might say something like the pair of schnauzers were entered by Hans Finkelstein.

Treating pair as plural, the pair were entered because they are two distinct dogs.

On the other hand, Maggie's pair of jeans seems more like one thing, so you'd be more

likely to say her pair of jeans is on the chair.

There's no definitive right or wrong choice.

You simply choose the verb that best reflects the singleness or plurality of your subject.

Does the pair seem more like one thing, a unit, or two separate things?

And that's your quick and dirty tip.

If a pair seems like one thing, it's singular.

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