Re-join the EU?

[french frank]

The point about referenda versus referendums is that the modern use of referendum is at odds with its use in ancient Rome. Thus to use the Latin pluralisation is to further mislead. https://www.etymonline.com/word/referendum

[COLOR="#0000FF"]I have now received a PM from a currently non-participating member. Referendum is indeed a Latin gerund

It's a Latin gerund in that it's a gerund in Latin (or maybe a gerundive?). It isn't a gerund (or a gerundive) in English. And the Spectator article is right in saying gerunds don't have a plural form (I like eating, in fact I like all the eatings I can get???).

[gurnemanz]

The definition in the Spectator article clarifies things for me, with "referendum" singular having two meanings, each with a different plural:
1) a ballot on one issue (plural: referendums - more than one ballot)
2) a thing to be referred (plural: referenda - more than one thing to be referred)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It's a Latin gerund in that it's a gerund in Latin (or maybe a gerundive?). It isn't a gerund (or a gerundive) in English. And the Spectator article is right in saying gerunds don't have a plural form (I like eating, in fact I like all the eatings I can get???).

Yes, indeed. I looked it up before posting. I do sometimes wonder about the complexities of the English language. It's so full of complexities that I wonder how our oversees friends manage to learn it at all, let alone the number of confused native speakers.. Plurals are a case in point. Left's forget fish, sheep, folk/folks. We also have to contend with baby/babies, but it's different with monkeys. Potatoes, but it's different with "to's and fros". And then we come to the ...ums: we have to know whether the word was once a Latin noun; otherwise the plurals of plum, bum & sum would be pla, ba & sa.

I think I'll stick with Spanish.

[Mario]

I wonder how our oversees friends manage to learn it at all

We try really hard!

Mario