Favorite or favorites

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hatgray

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These boots are my favorite.
These boots are my favorites.

Should I use favorite or favorites?

 
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emsr2d2

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These boots are my favorite.
These boots are my favorites.

Should I use "favorite" or "favorites"?


Use "favourites". To use the singular, you could start with "This pair of boots is ..."

(Note that I have used the BrE spelling of "favourites".)
 

hatgray

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“These are my favorite (boots).”

Can I use the singular since I’m talking about the pair of boots impliedly?

Is it wrong to use favorite?
 

emsr2d2

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No. If you want to use "favourite" in that way, you'd have to follow it with the word "boots", so that "favourite" is an adjective.
 

GoesStation

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Also, in one article they wrote

”Collars are my favorite.”

Why is this ok and my example wrong?
A twelve-year-old girl is expressing herself. The idiom includes an unspoken word, which could be "thing".
 

hatgray

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So in my example, there is no unspoken word that’s why it is wrong?

“Boots are practical for this weather. They are my favorite/favorties.”

Would also want to hear ms. Emsr2d2’s opinion :)
 
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GoesStation

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Using the expression, you could say Boots are my favorite! I'd consider the exclamation point to be a necessary part of the expression. I don't recommend that learners use this formula. It's casual usage which could easily look out of place.
 

hatgray

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Using the expression, you could say Boots are my favorite! I'd consider the exclamation point to be a necessary part of the expression. I don't recommend that learners use this formula. It's casual usage which could easily look out of place.

Then I could say,

These boots are my favorite! :)
 

Rover_KE

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Yes, but with GoesStation's caveat about this non-standard expression.

Please stop using home-made emoticons. If you must use a smiley, click on the :) icon.
 
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