I agree in part with several of the other responses, and I myself see
"manufactures" far too often from my students. I don't have as many contacts with
K-12 teachers as I would like, but those I have suggested that the mistake may be
the result of a deemphasis on (in some cases a total lack of) instruction in basic
prefixes and suffixes. Apparently, many students are no longer being taught that
"-er" means "one who." Lacking this sense of meaning, the students simply go with
the sound of the word.
Ed V.

Greg Dyer wrote:

> Hello all --
>
> Thus far I've merely been a lurker on this list, but a recently
> submitted paper prompted me to share this rather trivial
> comment/question.  A few years ago, when I was teaching a technical
> writing class for engineering majors, I began to notice students using
> the word "manufactures" as a noun in place of "manufacturers."
> Consider, for example, the following sentence: "Tire manufactures state
> the tire is worn out once it reaches this minimal tread."  This use of
> the word drives me absolutely nuts, but it happens often enough that I'm
> beginning to wonder if the usage of the word has changed (or is
> changing), at least within the technical professions.  Has anyone else
> noticed a similar usage?
>
> Greg Dyer
>
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