grammatical number - Which is correct, Credential or Credentials?



Is singular correct, or is plural of "credential" correct for a single username & password pair?



Answer



This isn't a question you can answer by thinking about the grammar - it's just a case of conventional usage.


I've previously worked in the tech industry, and we would always say credentials, never credential. That would still be true even if the credentials were a single item like a certificate. [Edit to add: but Samuel has provided a counter-example to this in a comment on the OP.]


In wider English, credential is valid - it's used for example in this Wikipedia article - but it's still more common to use the plural (see Oxford Dictionaries for confirmation). For example, I could say that I have presented my credentials to someone if I have shown them my passport, even though I've only shown them one physical item.


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