Heroes vs. Heros (Grammar Rules)
Learn when to use heroes vs. heros with Grammar Rules from the Writer’s Digest editors, including a few examples of correct usages.
Many people are familiar with Bonnie Tyler's "Holding out for a Hero," and are familiar with her calling out, "I need a hero." And most people know the correct way to spell hero in the singular, but what if one hero is not enough? What if we need more than one of these heroic people? What do we call them?
Let's courageously dive in!
Heroes vs. Heros
Heroes is the plural form of hero. So if Bonnie Tyler were to need more than one hero (let's say two), then she'd call out, "I need two heroes!"
Heros is a genus of fish native to South America. I'm not sure if any Heros happen to be heroes, but they are definitely fish.
Make sense?
Let's go through a few examples:
Correct: He doesn't need a hero; he needs five heroes.
Incorrect: He doesn't need a hero; he needs five heros.
Correct: The Avengers is a team comprised of several heroes.
Incorrect: The Avengers is a team comprised of several heros.
Correct: There are many fish species I don't understand, including the Heros of South America.
Incorrect: There are many fish species I don't understand, including the heroes of South America.
Remember to add an "-es" to hero when you need more than one. While South America surely has its fair share of heroes, it's the only place (outside of an aquarium) that you're likely to find Heros.
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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
