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Plurals of Nouns
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chair, chairs |
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wave, waves |
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book, books |
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pencil, pencils |
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paper, papers |
The usual way of forming the plural of English nouns is illustrated by the words in the column above. Simply add an S to the end of the word.
Rule 1.—Nouns regularly form the plural by adding s, but those ending in a hissing sound must add es.
Every word that ends in a sibilant, or hissing sound, (ch, s, sh, ss, x, z) forms its plural like fox. Observe the following examples:
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dress, dresses |
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splash, splashes |
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business, businesses |
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church, churches |
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fox, foxes |
Exercise 30
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(a) |
lady, ladies |
(b) |
valley, valleys |
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ally, allies |
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alley, alleys |
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soliloquy, soliloquies |
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journey, journeys |
Name five words belonging to group (a) above. Does a vowel or a consonant precede the y in each case?
Name other words belonging to the group (b) above. Does a vowel or a consonant precede the y in each case?<a name="Page_19">[</a>19]
<a name="Rule_2"></a>Rule 2.—Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant (and nouns ending in quy) form the plural by changing y to i and adding es.
Exercise 31—Words ending in o
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(a) |
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potato, potatoes |
hero, heroes |
mulatto, mulattoes |
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tomato, tomatoes |
buffalo, buffaloes |
cargo, cargoes |
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negro, negroes |
echo, echoes |
motto, mottoes |
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(b) |
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solo, solos |
piano, pianos |
memento, mementos |
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halo, halos |
lasso, lassos |
canto, cantos |
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zero, zeros |
quarto, quartos |
soprano, sopranos |
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stilletto, stillettos |
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The older English words ending in o form the plural by adding es, as in potatoes; those more recently taken into the language form the plural by adding s, as in quartos.
Exercise 32—Nouns in f and fe
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leaf, leaves |
calf, calves |
wife, wives |
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loaf, loaves |
sheaf, sheaves |
shelf, shelves |
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half, halves |
wolf, wolves |
elf, elves |
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life, lives |
beef, beeves |
wharf, wharves (or wharfs) |
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self, selves |
knife, knives |
With the exception of the words given above, nouns ending in an f sound form the plural in the regular way; as,
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hoof, hoofs |
scarf, scarfs |
beliefs, beliefs |
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chief, chiefs |
reef, reefs |
grief, griefs |
Exercise 33—Irregular Plurals
Some nouns form their plural by a change of vowel; as,
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man |
men |
foot |
feet |
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woman |
women |
tooth |
teeth |
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goose |
geese |
mouse |
mice |
A few words retain the old time plural en; as,
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brother brethren |
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child |
children |
ox |
oxen |
<o:p> </o:p>
A few words are the same in both singular and plural; as,
sheep, trout, deer
Some nouns have two plurals which differ in meaning; as,
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Singular |
Plural |
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brother |
brothers |
brethren |
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penny |
pennies |
pence |
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pea |
peas |
pease |
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die |
dies |
dice |
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Exercise 34—Compound Nouns
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Singular |
Plural |
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brother-in-law |
brothers-in-law |
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father-in-law |
fathers-in-law |
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court-martial |
courts-martial |
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commander-in-chief |
commanders-in-chief |
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man-of-war |
men-of-war |
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major general |
major generals |
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goose quill |
goose quills |
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bill of fare |
bills of fare |
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spoonful |
spoonfuls |
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cupful |
cupfuls |
Rule 3.—Compound nouns usually add the sign of the plural to the fundamental part of the word.
Note.—In spoonfuls the thought is of one spoon many times full.
Plural of Letters and Figures
Rule 4.—Letters and figures form the plural by adding the apostrophe (') and s; as,
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a |
a's |
3 |
3's |
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w |
w's |
5 |
5's |
The same rule applies to the plural of words which ordinarily have no plural; as,
Don't use so many and's and if's.
Exercise 35—Foreign Plurals
Some nouns derived from foreign languages retain their original plural. The following are in common use.
<o:p> </o:p>
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Singular |
Plural |
Singular |
Plural |
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crisis |
crises |
stratum |
strata |
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thesis |
theses |
radius |
radii |
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hypothesis |
hypotheses |
parenthesis |
parentheses |
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focus |
foci |
synopsis |
synopses |
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datum |
data |
basis |
bases |
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alumnus |
alumni |
automaton |
automata |
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alumna |
alumnae |
analysis |
analyses |
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oasis |
oases |
nucleus |
nuclei |
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axis |
axes |
phenomenon |
phenomena |
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genus |
genera |
Some words admit of two plurals, one the foreign plural, and one the regular English plural; as,
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Singular |
Plural |
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beau |
beaux |
beaus |
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formula |
formulae |
formulas |
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vertex |
vertices |
vertexes |
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index |
indices |
indexes |
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cherub |
cherubim |
cherubs |
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seraph |
seraphim |
seraphs |
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bandit |
banditti |
bandits |
<o:p> </o:p>
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