Grammar and Punctuation The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

Bacteria

Staphylococcus is a virulent form of bacteria. No problem there, but with Staphylococcus is a virulent bacteria, well, now we have a problem. Avoid "a bacteria." Bacteria is plural; the singular is bacterium. So a sentence like The bacteria in the cut was infecting it is flawed—the bacteria were infecting it.


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