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 > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/