email, emails

When the noun email means “a message sent by email,” the plural form is emails:

  • I received 10 emails (or messages) yesterday.

When there is no mention of number, email is used in the singular form as a mass (or uncountable) noun:

  • I received email yesterday.

The confusion about the use of the plural form emails likely arises because mail (delivered by Canada Post) is a mass noun and thus has no plural form:

  • Jack received mail—one magazine, two bills and one postcard.

OR

  • Jack received four pieces of mail.

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.