<p>the word at its most basic is "maths"</p>
<p>No, it's not. Math is an abbreviation of the word mathematics and like another poster already said, you take the beginning of the word, not the beginning and then the final letter. So shortening it results in math, not maths. You shorten chemistry to chem, biology to bio, psychology to psych, without regard to the end of the word. You just chop off the rest at whatever point seems the most logical, and mathematics follows this same principle.</p>
<p>when I said that I meant to the British. I believe I made it clear at the beginning. :)</p>
<p>British vs. American.
You say "cherio, mate!" and I'll say "corn flakes, homeboy!"
Different countries and different cultures.</p>
<p>screwitlah - Well we don't say maths are a hard subject either, we would say it maths is a hard subject!</p>
<p>so that point doesn't make a good argument.</p>
<p>no, i said it isn't even a plural anymore. it is -just- like that, in its most basic form. i don't know why it's so hard to understand what i wrote.</p>
<p>mathematics is plural
maths is plural
math is not
end of. </p>
<p>...I get weird reactions when i hear people leave the 's' off, similar to when people don't switch off plug socket switches.</p>
<p>
[quote]
mathematics is plural
maths is plural
math is not
end of.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>wow. amazing. isn't it remotely possible that not everyone is obliged to follow the American version of English?</p>
<p>
[quote]
The "s" in physics isn't a pluralizer though. You say "physics is a hard subject" rather than "physics are a hard subject."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You say, "maths is a hard subject."</p>
<p>
[quote]
mathematics is plural
maths is plural
math is not
end of.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I disagree. Mathematics is singular, maths is singular, math is singular. You say, "Mathematics is...", not "Mathematics are...". Kind of like "the United States" as a singular noun.</p>
<p>Both ways are correct. Isolation makes changes, and it's unfair to say one way is right and one is wrong. Same thing with "full stop" and "period".</p>
<p>
[Quote]
wow. amazing. isn't it remotely possible that not everyone is obliged to follow the American version of English?
[/Quote]
</p>
<p>No. Not really. God created two versions of English: the American one and the wrong one.</p>
<p>
[quote]
"maths" sounds stupid.
[/quote]
dittttttttto. haha. just a cultural difference.</p>
<p>Location: Stanford '12
No. Not really. God created two versions of English: the American one and the wrong one.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>
[quote]
no, i said it isn't even a plural anymore. it is -just- like that, in its most basic form. i don't know why it's so hard to understand what i wrote.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Because it didn't make any sense. You seemed to be arguing why it's physics and math, but your justification for the s in physics could also have applied to the s in maths.</p>
<p>Statistics is similar to mathematics in the way that when it is contracted, it retains the -s at the end no matter the context: statistics->stats.</p>
<p>^Not true. A lot of people call the class AP Stat.</p>
<p>
[quote]
^Not true. A lot of people call the class AP Stat.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Doesn't mean they're right.</p>
<p>and no, I was pointing out that "physics" is the most basic form of the word, and similarly how "maths" is the most basic form of the word in British English.</p>