"Softwares" is not the plural of the word "software".
Posted on Sunday, April 12, 2009 at 11:13 PM."Softwares" is a term that we unfortunately see used far too often. Some recent examples include the titles of the 11 Most Popular Cross-Platform And Free Softwares and Install And Update All Donation Coder Softwares Automatically articles. While this is not a major problem by any means, it does interfere with communication in some cases, as it is not what most native speakers of English would expect.
The general consensus seems to be that "softwares" is not the correct way to refer to multiple pieces of software. Multiple people pointed out in the answers to the What is the plural of software? question at Yahoo! Answers that the word "software" is a mass noun. Thus it is quantified through the use of a unit of measure. "Pieces" is perhaps the most common measuring unit for software, much akin to how somebody may have multiple "pieces of furniture" in his or her house.
Several other sources suggest that the word "softwares" is incorrect, including Wikipedia, The Grammar Logs, and a topic at the WordReference.com Language Forums.
From both the sources above and from my past dealings with native English speakers, some alternatives to the word "softwares" that are clearer include:
- Pieces of software
- Software applications
- Computer applications
- Software programs
- Computer programs
- Software packages
- Software bundles
- Software products
- Software solutions
- Kinds of software
- Types of software
Now is a good time to start avoiding the use of the term "softwares". There are a wide variety of alternatives, and their use will improve the clarity of communication.
