Deer is a word that refers to a four-legged horned animal that lives in the wild. The question of whether it is deer or deers is simply a spelling and number-related question.
Deer or deers: which one is correct?
There are various words in the English language that do not need any alteration to change their number forms. That means they do not need any spelling change when they transform from singular to plural, such as series, sheep, etc. Deer is amongst that category of words. Deer is a word that can be used in singular as well as plural contexts.
Simply put, there is no need for adding -s or -es with deer to change it from singular to plural. Therefore, the correct answer for our question would be “deer” and not “deers”. Words with additional -s at their end are usually the plural versions of their respective nouns. However, in this case, deers is rarely used and is rendered grammatically incorrect.
For example:
- Can you see any deer? (Correct)
- Can you see any deers? (Wrong)
- I saw so many deer running towards the lake. (Correct)
- I saw so many deers running towards the lake. (Wrong)
As we can see, deer is applicable for both singular and plural numbers. That means deer can refer to one single animal and also more.
Final words
The word “deer” is the grammatically correct noun used for a four-legged animal in both singular and plural contexts. “Deers” is not a recognized word.