Agenda was originally the plural form of agendum, a Latin word meaning “something that needs to be done.” Hence, the plural agenda represented a list of items that needed to be dealt with.
However, agenda is now considered a singular noun in English and takes a singular verb. It can mean a list of items for discussion at a meeting, a plan of action, or a book in which to organize work and appointments:
- The agenda for the meeting is attached to the email.
- Your vacation agenda sounds very exciting!
- This electronic agenda is much easier to use than previous versions.
The plural is agendas:
- We have ordered new agendas for the coming calendar year.
Copyright notice for Writing Tips Plus
© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement
A tool created and made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Search by related themes
Want to learn more about a theme discussed on this page? Click on a link below to see all the pages on the Language Portal of Canada that relate to the theme you selected. The search results will be displayed in Language Navigator.
Related links
- Writing Tips Plus (home page)
- Writing tools
- Language Navigator (for fast access to language tips)
- TERMIUM Plus®