O.k., this is more of a language question, but I need to know this from English native speakers:
What is the difference between the words “final”, “finals” and “finale”? (All of them are supposed to be nouns: the final, the finals, the finale. I’m not talking about the adjective, like in “the final battle”.)
So, the last battle of the Street Fighter tournament, Ryu vs. Sagat: Which one would be the correct term?
Is it
the Street Fighter final
the Street Fighter finals
the Street Fighter finale
or can all three be used equally?
I know that the word “finale” is used in TV or theater: The last episode of a season is the season finale. But is this word valid in sports and other competitions as well? Can we say “Ryu defeated Sagat in the finale of the Street Fighter tournament”? Or do only the words “final” and “finals” work here?
The context is of course: The final battle between Ryu and Sagat in SF1. The SF1 tournament’s Super Bowl, so to say. Or that battle from “Karate Kid” where Daniel defeats the other guy with a kick to the face.
So, “final” would be the most common version. That’s also what I experienced so far.
But is “The Street Fighter finale” still a possible term or would this sound weird in the context of a tournament?
Is it conceivable that a sports league, for example football, calls its final game between the last two remaining teams “the finale”, even if it’s not the most common version? Or can this never be used in sports at all and is exclusively used for the last act of movies or stage plays etc.?
Street Fighter Finale sounds like the last Street Fighter ever. It’s usually meant to describe a performance more so than a fight, but it can describe a fight in an entertainment battle arena like boxing where the final battle can also be seen as a finale for the show.
For the purpose you described, Street Fighter Final or Final Street Fighter would work best. The former also evokes the Ryu Final comic (which goes on to tell the story of Ryu’s final battle with Akuma).