English Plurals grammatical rules regular and irregular

8/16/2019 English Plurals grammatical rules regular and irregular

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English pluralsEnglish nouns

are infected or grammatical number

, meaning that i they are o the countable type, they generallyhave dierent orms orsingular

and plural

. This article discusses the variety o ways in which English plural nounsare ormed rom the corresponding singular orms, as well as various issues concerning the usage o singulars andplurals in English.Regular plurals The plural morpheme in English is suxed to the end o most nouns. Regular English plurals all into three classes,depending upon the sound that ends the singular orm!here a singular noun ends in a sibilant sound "#s#, #$#, #%#, #, #t%# or #d" the plural is ormed byadding #'$# or #($# )in some transcription systems, this is abbreviated as #*#+. The spelling adds -es, or -s i the singularalready ends in -e

iss -isses

hase phases

/ish dishes

0assage massages!itch witches

1udge 2udges!hen the singular orm ends in a voiceless consonant )other than a sibilant+ "#p#, #t#, #-#, ## )sometimes+ or #3#" theplural is ormed by adding #s#. The spelling adds -s

4ap laps

5at cats

5loc- cloc-s

5u cus

/eath deaths

6or all other words )i.e. words ending in vowels or voiced non7sibilants+ the regular plural adds #$#,represented orthographically by -s

boy boys

girl 8irls

chair chairshonologically, these rules are sucient to describe most English plurals. 9owever, certain complications arise in thespelling o certain plurals, as described below.lurals o nouns in -o

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_nounhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflectionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countable_nounhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphemehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affixhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibilanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_(phonetics)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthographyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonologyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflectionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countable_nounhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphemehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affixhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibilanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_(phonetics)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthographyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonologyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_noun


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!ith nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant, the plural in many cases is spelled by adding -es )pronounced #$#+9ero heroes )or heros+

otato potatoes

volcano volcanoes or volcanos9owever many nouns o oreign origin, including almost all :talian loanwords, add only -s5anto cantos

9etero heteros

hoto photos

;ero $eros

iano pianos

ouns ending in a y preceded by a consonant usually drop the y and add -ies )pronounced #i$#, or #ai$# in wordswhere the y is pronounced #ai#+

cherry cherries

4ady ladies

?-y s-ies!ords ending in quy also ollow this pattern

?olilo=uy solilo=uies9owever, nouns o this type which are proper nouns )particularly names o people+ orm their plurals by simplyadding -s the two Kennedys, there are three Harrys in our ofce. !ith place names this rule is not always adheredto Germanys and Germanies are both used,and Sicilies and Scillies are the standard plurals o Sicily and Scilly . >ordoes the rule apply to words that are merely capitali$ed common nouns P&O erries )rom !erry +.@ther exceptions include lay-"ys and stand-"ys.!ords ending in a y preceded by a vowel orm their plurals by adding -s

/ay days

mon-ey mon-eys9owever the plural orm )rarely used+ o money is usually monies, although moneys is also ound.Near-regular plurals

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proper_nounhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_the_Two_Sicilieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isles_of_Scillyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lay-byhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proper_nounhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_the_Two_Sicilieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isles_of_Scillyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lay-by


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:n @ld and 0iddle English voiceless ricatives ##, #3# mutated to voiced ricatives beore a voiced ending. :n somewords this voicing survives in the modern English plural. :n the case o ## changing to #v#, the mutation is indicated inthe orthography as wellA also, a silent e is added in this case i the singular does not already end with -e

Bath baths #bCDð$#, #bð$#

mouthFGH mouths #maIð$#

5al calves #-CDv$#, #-v$#

lea FJH leaves #liDv$#

-nieFGH -nives #na'v$#

lie lives #la'v$#:n addition, there is one word where #s# is voiced in the pluralFreerences KH

houseFGH houses #haIz*$#0any nouns ending in ## or #3# )including all words where ## is represented orthographically by gh or ph+nevertheless retain the voiceless consonant

moth moths )voiced #mLð$# is rare but does occur in >ew England and 5anada+

proo proos?ome can do either

dwar FMH dwars#dwarves

hoo hoos#hooves

el els#elves

roo roos )commonly voiced as #ruDv$# to rhyme with hoo#es, but roo#es is a rare archaic spelling+

sta FNH stas#staves

tur turs#turves )latter rare+Notes:O 1ump up toa b c :n a 5anadian accent, the mutation to a voiced consonant produces a change in the sound o thepreceding diphthong )#aI# or #a'#+. Jump up ̂The Toronto 0aple 4eas ice hoc-ey team is a special caseA see Teams and their members below. Jump up ̂6or dwar! , the common orm o the plural was dwar!s "as, or example, in !alt /isneyPs Snow $hite andthe Se#en %war!s" until 1. R. R. Tol-ien populari$ed dwar#esA he intended the changed spelling to dierentiate theQdwar Q antasy race in his novels rom the cuter and simpler beings common in airy tales, but his usage has sincespread. 0ultiple astronomical dwar stars and multiple nonmythological short human beings, however,remain dwar!s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fricative_consonanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonant_voicing_and_devoicing#Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-canadian-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-7https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-canadian-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-emerson-5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-canadian-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Englandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-8https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-canadian_6-0https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-canadian_6-0https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-canadian_6-1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-canadian_6-2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_raisinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-7https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Maple_Leafshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#Teams_and_their_membershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-8https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disneyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_(1937_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_(1937_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkienhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_(Tolkien)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_(fantasy)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_starhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarfismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fricative_consonanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonant_voicing_and_devoicing#Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-canadian-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-7https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-canadian-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-emerson-5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-canadian-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Englandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-8https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-canadian_6-0https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-canadian_6-1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-canadian_6-2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_raisinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-7https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Maple_Leafshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#Teams_and_their_membershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-8https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disneyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_(1937_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_(1937_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkienhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_(Tolkien)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_(fantasy)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_starhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarfism


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Jump up ̂6or sta )#st# or #stCD#+ in the sense o Qa body o employeesQ, the plural is always sta A otherwise,both stas and sta#es )#ste'v$#+ are acceptable, except in compounds, such as'astas. Sta#es is rare in >orthmerica except in the sense o Qmagic rodQ, or the musical notation toolA sta#e o a barrel or cas- is a bac-7ormation rom sta#es, which is its plural. )?ee thelural to singular by bac-7ormation section below.+Irregular plurals There are many other less regular ways o orming plurals, usually stemming rom older orms o English or romoreign borrowings.>ouns with identical singular and plural?ome nouns have identical singular and plural. 0any o these are the names o animalsbisonbualodeerduc-FGH

Sshmoose alcepi-e pica puntaplan-tonsalmonsheeps=uidswinetrout

The plural deers is listed in some dictionaries.Freerences H s a general rule, game or other animals are oten reerred toin the singular or the plural in a sporting context Q9e shot six brace o pheasantQ, Q5arruthers bagged a do$en tigerlast yearQ, whereas in another context such as $oology or tourism the regular plural would be used. Eric

artridge reers to these sporting terms as Qsnob pluralsQ and con2ectures that they may have developed by analogywith the common English irregular plural animal words QdeerQ, QsheepQ and QtroutQ. Freerences UH ?imilarly, nearly all -indso Ssh have no separate plural orm )though there are exceptions"such as rays, shar-s or lampreys+. s to theword sh itsel, the plural is usually identical to the singular, although shes is sometimes used, especially whenmeaning Qspecies o SshQ. ishes is also used in iconic contexts, such as the Biblestory o the loaves and Sshes, orthe reerence in *he God!ather , Q4uca Brasi sleeps with the Sshes.Q@ther nouns that have or may have identical singular and plural orms includeaircratA watercratA spacecratA hovercratA ocean7going cratthe bluesFJH

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staff_(music)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-formationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-formationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#Plural_to_singular_by_back-formationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-10https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-11https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_animalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brace_(hunting)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Partridgehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Partridgehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-12https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loaves_and_fisheshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfatherhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircrafthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watercrafthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecrafthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovercrafthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-13https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staff_(music)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-formationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-formationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#Plural_to_singular_by_back-formationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-10https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-11https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_animalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brace_(hunting)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Partridgehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Partridgehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-12https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loaves_and_fisheshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfatherhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircrafthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watercrafthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecrafthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovercrafthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-13


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cannon )sometimes cannons+FMH

headFNH

iris )usually irises, but iris can be the plural or multiple plantsA in medical contexts irides is used+stone 7 as a unit o weight e=ual to GN pounds )occasionally stones+FKH

series, species )and other words in -ies+counsel )barrister, lawyer, opinion#advice+

Notes: Jump up ̂Q/uc-sQ is also correctA http##oxorddictionaries.com#deSnition#english#duc- Jump up ̂Reerring to individual songs in the blues musical style Qplay me a bluesQA Qhe sang three blues and acalypsoQ Jump up ̂Q5annonsQ is more common in >orth merica and ustralia, while QcannonQ as plural is more common inthe Vnited ingdom. Jump up ̂Reerring, in the plural, to animals in a herd QSty head o cattleQ Jump up ̂s a unit o weight e=ual to GN pounds5ertain names o peoples are not infected or the plural5hinese )and others in -ese+?wissWuXbXcois )the eminine plural +u,",coises is rarely borrowed into English+ This includes most names or >ative merican peoples, or example5hero-ee5ree5omanche/elaware9opi:ro=uoisiowa>ava2o@2ibwa?ioux;uni?ome exceptions include lgon=uins, paches, $tecs, Blac- 9aw-s, 5hippewas, 9urons, :ncas, 0ayans, 0ohaw-s,@neidas, and ?eminoles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-14https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-15https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_(unit)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-16https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-10http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/duckhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-13https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-14https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-15https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-16https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loanwordhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-14https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-15https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_(unit)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-16https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-10http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/duckhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-13https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-14https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-15https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-16https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loanwordhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas


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>ote that English sometimes distinguishes between regular plural orms o demonyms

#ethnonyms )e.g. QSve/utchmenQ, Qseveral :rishmenQ+, and uncountable plurals used to reer to entire nationalities collectively )e.g. Qthe/utchQ, Qthe :rishQ+.5ertain other words borrowed rom oreign languages such as 1apanese and 0Yori are not infected in the pluralA

see :rregular plurals rom other languages below.lurals in -(e)n The plural o a ew nouns can also be ormed rom the singular by adding -n or -en, stemming rom the @ld Englishwea- declension. @nly the ollowing three are commonly ound

@x oxen)particularly when reerring to a team o drat animals, sometimes oes in nonstandard mericanEnglish+

child children)only possible pluralA originated as a double plural, with -en added to @ld English plural cildra.cildru,which also led to the archaic plural childer as in/hildermas, occasionally still encountered in:reland+.

brother brethren

)archaic as plural o "rother meaning a male sibling, but oten seen as plural o "rother meaning a

member o a religious congregation or raternal organi$ationAFreerences ZH

originated as a double plural,with -en added to Early 0iddle English "rether + The ollowing -(e)n plurals are ound in dialectal, rare, or archaic usage

Bee been )dialectal, 0reland+

5ow -ine)archaic#regionalA actually earlier plural Q-yeQ Fc. ?cots Q-yeQ 7 QcowsQH plus -en sux, orminga double plural+

Eye eyen )rare, ound in some regional dialects, used by ?ha-espeare+

shoe shoon )rare#dialectal+

house housen )rare#dialectal, used by Rudyard ipling in Puc1 o! Poo12s Hill+

hose hosen )rare#archaic, used in ing 1ames [ersion o the Bible+

-nee -neen )archaic#obsolete+ Tree treen )archaic#obsolete, used by !illiam Browne+

aurochs aurochsen )alternative plural, also aurochs+ The word "o , reerring to a computer, may be plurali$ed semi-humorously to "oen in the hac-er subculture. :n thesame context, multiple [\ computers are sometimes called3aen particularly i operating as a cluster, but multipleVnix systems are usually 4nices along the 4atin model.Freerences ]H

pophonic plurals The plural is sometimes ormed by simply changing the vowel sound o the singular )these are sometimescalled mutated plurals+

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonymshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnonymshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#Irregular_plurals_from_other_languageshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_pluralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childermashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_(Catholic)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraternal_organizationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-17https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_pluralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Middle_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_pluralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespearehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kiplinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puck_of_Pook's_Hillhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Versionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Browne_(poet)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAXhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#Irregular_plurals_from_Latin_and_Greekhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-18https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonymshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnonymshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#Irregular_plurals_from_other_languageshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_pluralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childermashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_(Catholic)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraternal_organizationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-17https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_pluralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Middle_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_pluralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespearehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kiplinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puck_of_Pook's_Hillhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Versionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Browne_(poet)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAXhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#Irregular_plurals_from_Latin_and_Greekhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-18


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6oot eet

8oose geese

4ouse lice

dormouse dormice0an men

0ouse mice )computer mouse can also ta-e the regular plural orm mouses+

Tooth teeth

!oman women #^w'm*n# This group consists o words that historically belong to the @ld English consonant declension, see 8ermanic umlaut:7mutation in @ld English. There are many compounds o man and woman that orm their plurals in the sameway postmen, policewomen, etc. The plural o monoose is monooses. 5oneese is a bac-7ormation by mista-en analogy to oose # eese and isoten used in a 2ocular context. The orm meese is sometimes also used humorously as the plural o moose "normally moose or mooses " or even o mouse.0iscellaneous irregular plurals?ome words have irregular plurals that do not St any o the types given here.person _ people )also persons, in more ormal contextsA people can also be a singular noun with plural peoples.+die _ dice )in the context o gaming, where dice is also oten used as the singularA and also in the semiconductorindustry. @therwise dies is used.+penny _ pence )in the context o an amount o money in Britain+. The Gp or G7cent coins are called pennies. Pence isabbreviated p )also in speech, as QpeeQ+. 6or 67 pencessee 9eadless nouns below.:rregular plurals rom 4atin and 8ree-English has borrowed a great many words rom 5lassical 4atin and 5lassical 8ree-. The general trendwith loanwords is toward what is called 8nlicization or naturalization, that is, the re7ormation o the word and itsinfections as normal English words. 0any nouns )particularly ones rom 4atin+ have retained their original plurals orsome time ater they are introduced. @ther nouns have become nglici$ed, ta-ing on the normal QsQ ending. :n somecases, both orms are still competing. The choice o a orm can oten depend on context or a linguist, the plural o appendi is appendices )ollowing theoriginal language+A or some physicians, the plural o appendi is appendies. 4i-ewise,a radio or radar engineer wor-s with antennas, but an entomologist deals with antennae. The choice o orm can alsodepend on the level o discourse traditional 4atin plurals are ound more oten in academic and scientiSc contexts,whereas in daily speech the nglici$ed orms are more common. :n the ollowing table, the 4atin plurals are listed,together with the nglici$ed orms when these are more common.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_mousehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_umlaut#I-mutation_in_Old_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_umlaut#I-mutation_in_Old_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#Headless_nounshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loanwordshttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/appendixhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entomologisthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_mousehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_umlaut#I-mutation_in_Old_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_umlaut#I-mutation_in_Old_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#Headless_nounshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loanwordshttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/appendixhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entomologist


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/ierent paradigms o 4atin pronunciation can lead to conusion as to the number or gender o the noun in =uestion.s traditionally used in English, including scientiSc, medical, and legal contexts, 4atin nouns retain the classicalinfection with regard to spellingA however the pronunciation o those infections are anglici$ed. The entomologistmay writeantennae but pronounces it #n^t`ni#. This may cause conusion or those who have learned a more

authentic model o 4atin pronunciation. The word alumnus#a is notorious in this regard, as a given infectionaccording to the traditional nglici$ed model o 4atin pronunciation sounds the same as a dierent number or genderin the more authentic model o pronunciation. The act that many o these plurals do not end in -s has led some o them to be reinterpreted as singular orms. Thisis particularly the case with the words datum and medium)as in a Qmedium o communicationQ+, where the originalplurals data and media are now, in many contexts, used more commonly as singular mass nouns QThe media isbiasedQA QThis data shows us that ...Q )although a number o scientists, especially o British origin, still say QThesedata show us that ...Q+.. similar process is causing words such as criteria and phenomena to be used as singular bysome spea-ers, although this is still considered incorrect in standard usage6inal a becomes -ae )also -9+, or 2ust adds -s

lumna alumnae

6ormula ormulae#ormulas

encyclopaedia )or encyclopdia+ #encyclopedia

encyclopaedias # encyclopedias )encyclopaediae and encyclopediaeare rare+

?cientiSc abbreviations or words o 4atin origin ending in -a, such as S: or superno#a, can orm a plural by adding -e, as S:e or superno#ae.6inal e or i becomes -ices )pronounced #*siD$#+, or 2ust adds -es

index indices #^'nd*siD$# or indexes

matrix matrices #^me'tr*siD$#

vertex vertices #^vrt*siD$#?ome people treat process as i it belonged to this class, pronouncing processes #^prLs*siD$# instead o standard #

^prLs`s*$#. ?ince the word comes rom 4atin processus, whose plural in the ourth declension is process;s with along u, this pronunciation is by analogy, not etymology.6inal is becomes es )pronounced #iD$#+

xis axes #^-siD$#

genesis geneses #d&`n.(.siD$#

nemesis nemeses #^n`m(siD$#

crisis crises #^-ra'siD$#

testis testes #^t`stiD$#

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_declension#Fourth_declension_.28u.29https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analogy#Linguisticshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_declension#Fourth_declension_.28u.29https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analogy#Linguistics


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8es )#^-siD$#+, the plural o ais, is pronounced dierently rom aes )#^-s*$#+, the plural o a(e).6inal ies remains unchanged

series series

species speciesSpecie or a singular o species is considered nonstandard. :t is standard meaning the orm o money, where itderives rom the 4atin singular ablative in the phrase in specie.6inal um becomes -a, or 2ust adds -s

addendum addenda

agendum )obsolete,not listed in mostdictionaries+

agenda means a Qlist o items o business at a meetingQ and has the plural aendas

corrigendum 5orrigenda

/atum data )>ow usually treated as a singular mass noun in both inormal and educated usage, butusage in scientiSc publications shows a strong merican#British divide. merican usage

generally preers to treat data as a singular in all contexts, including in serious and academicpublishing.Freerences GHFreerences GGHFreerences GJH British usage now widely accepts treating data assingular in standard English,Freerences GMH including educated everyday usageFreerences GNH at least innon7scientiSc use.Freerences GKH British scientiSc publishing usually still preers treating data as aplural.Freerences GH ?ome British university style guides recommend using data or both thesingular and the plural useFreerences GUH and some recommend treating it only as a singular inconnection with computers.Freerences GZH+:n engineering, drating, surveying, and geodesy, and in weight and balance calculations oraircrat, a datum )plural datums or data+ is a reerence point, surace, or axis on an ob2ect orthe EarthPs surace against which measurements are made.

6


10/21

?pectrum spectra )as in power spectrum in electrical engineering+6inal us becomes -i )second declension, Fa'H+ or -era or -ora )third declension+, or 2ust adds -es )especially in ourthdeclension, where it would otherwise be the same as the singular+

lumnus lumni

5orpus 5orpora

5ensus 5ensuses

6ocus 6oci

8enus 8enera

prospectus prospectuses )plural prospectus is rare although technically correct+

Radius Radii

5ampus5ampuses )The 4atinate plural orm campi is sometimes used, particularly with respect to colleges oruniversitiesA however, it is sometimes rowned upon. By contrast, the common plural orm campuses isuniversally accepted.+

succubus ?uccubi

?tylus ?tyli

?yllabus syllabi#syllabuses )in act the 4atin plural is syllabs+

[iscus [iscera

[irus viruses ) see lural orm o words ending in 7us[irus +

5actus cactuses#cacti )in ri$ona many people avoid either choice with cactus as both singular and plural.+

6ungus ungi

hippopotamus hippopotamuses#hippopotami

@ctopus octopuses )note octopi also occurs, although it is strictly spea-ing unounded,Freerences G]H because it isnot a 4atin noun o the second declension, but rather a 4atini$ed orm o 8ree- 7jk, eight7oot. The theoretically correct orm octopodes is rarely used.+

latypus platypuses )same as octopus platypi occurs but is etymologically incorrect, and platypodes, whiletechnically correct, is even rarer than octopodes+

Terminus termini#terminuses

Vterus uteri#uteruses6inal us remains unchanged in the plural )ourth declension 7 the plural has a long to dierentiate it rom thesingular short ǔ+

meatus meatus )or meatuses+

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_spectrumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_engineeringhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_declensionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_declensionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_declensionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_declensionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plural_form_of_words_ending_in_-us#Virushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizonahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-28https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_spectrumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_engineeringhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_declensionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_declensionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_declensionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_declensionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plural_form_of_words_ending_in_-us#Virushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizonahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-28


11/21

status status )but usually statuses+5ollo=uial usages based in a humorous ashion on the second declension include lurals o words o 8ree- origin+

6inal on becomes -aautomaton automata

5riterion criteria

phenomenon phenomena

polyhedron polyhedra6inal as in one case changes to -antes

tlas tlantes )statues o the Titan+A but

atlas atlases )map collections+6inal ma in nouns o 8ree- origin can become -mata, although -s is usually also acceptable, and in many cases morecommon.

?tigma stigmata#stigmas?toma stomata#stomas

?chema schemata#schemas

/ogma dogmata#dogmas

4emma lemmata#lemmas

anathema anathemata#anathemas:rregular plurals rom other languages?ome nouns o 6rench origin add an - , which may be silent or pronounced #$#

beau beaux or beaus

bureau bureaux or bureaus

chteau chteaux or chteaustableau tableaux or tableaus

?ee also 6rench compounds below.6oreign terms may ta-e native plural orms, especially when the user is addressing an audience amiliar with thelanguage. :n such cases, the conventionally ormed English plural may sound aw-ward or be conusing.>ouns o ?lavic origin add -a or -i according to native rules, or 2ust -s

-nia$hestvo -nia$hestva#-nia$hestvos

ob$ar -ob$ari#-ob$ars

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_impersonatorshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_impersonatorshttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/petrolheadhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Carshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_words_of_Greek_origin#Inflectional_endings_and_pluralshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#French_compoundshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languageshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_impersonatorshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_impersonatorshttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/petrolheadhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Carshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_words_of_Greek_origin#Inflectional_endings_and_pluralshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#French_compoundshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languages


12/21

@blast oblasti#oblasts>ouns o 9ebrew origin add -im or -ot )generally m#+ according to native rules, or 2ust -s

cherub cherubim#cherubs

seraph seraphim#seraphs

mat$ah mat$ot#mat$ahs

-ibbut$ -ibbut$im#-ibbut$esOt is pronounced os )with unvoiced s+ in the sh-ena$i dialect.0any nouns o 1apanese origin have no plural orm and do not change

benshi benshi

ota-u ota-u

samurai samurai@ther nouns such as 1imonos, nin?as, !utons, and tsunamis are more oten seen with a regular English plural.:n >ew ;ealand English, nouns o 0Yori origin can either ta-e an -s or have no separate plural orm. !ords moreconnected to 0Yori culture and used in that context tend to retain the same orm, while names o fora and auna

may or may not ta-e an -s, depending on context. 0any regard omission as more correct-iwiFGH -iwi#-iwis

-owhai -owhai#-owhais

0YoriFJH 0Yori#)occasionally 0Yoris+

marae marae

Tui tuis#tui

wa-a wa-aNotes: Jump up ̂!hen reerring to the bird, 1iwi may or may not ta-e an -sA when used as an inormal term or a >ew;ealander, it always ta-es an -s.

Jump up ̂5@ori, when reerring to a person o that ethnicity, does not usually ta-e an -s. 0any spea-ers avoid theuse o 5@ori as a noun, and instead use it only as an ad2ective.?ome words borrowed rom :nu-titut )spo-en in 5anada and las-a+ retain the original plurals

:nu- :nuit

:nu-shu- inu-shuit

:=alummiu= :=alummiut )Qinhabitant o :=aluitQ+

>unavimmiu= >unavimmiut )Qinhabitant o >unavi-Q+

>unavummiu= >unavummiut )Qinhabitant o >unavutQ+

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkenazihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-29https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-30https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-29https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-30https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuktituthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iqaluithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunavikhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunavuthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkenazihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-29https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-30https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-29https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-30https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuktituthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iqaluithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunavikhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunavut


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>ouns rom languages other than the above generally orm plurals as i they were native English words5anoe 5anoes

5wm cwms )!elsh valley+

:gloo :gloos

angaroo angaroos

aya- aya-s

-indergarten -indergartens )in the original 8erman, the plural orm would be indergrten+

i$$a pi$$as

?auna saunas

>in2a nin2asPlurals of compound nouns The ma2ority o English compound nouns have one basic term, or head, with which they end. These are nouns andare plurali$ed in typical ashion

able seaman able seamen

head banger head bangers

yellow7dog contract yellow7dog contracts?ome compounds have one head with which they begin. These heads are also nouns and the head usually plurali$es,leaving the second, usually a post7positive ad2ective, term unchanged

attorney general attorneys general

bill o attainder bills o attainder

court martial courts martial

director general directors general

ee simple absolute ees simple absolute

governor7general governors7general

asserby passersby

ship o the line ships o the line

son7in7law sons7in7law

minister7president ministers7president

chie o sta chies o sta

procurator Sscal (in Scotland) procurators Sscal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_(linguistics)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_(linguistics)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-positive_adjectivehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director_generalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fee_simple_absolutehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_(linguistics)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_(linguistics)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-positive_adjectivehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director_generalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fee_simple_absolute


14/21

:t is common in inormal speech to instead plurali$e the last word in the manner typical o most English nouns, but inedited prose, the orms given above are preerred.: a compound can be thought to have two heads, both o them tend to be plurali$ed when the Srst head has anirregular plural orm

man7child men7childrenmanservant menservants

woman doctor women doctors )no longer in common use+ Two7headed compounds in which the Srst head has a standard plural orm, however, tend to plurali$e only the Snalhead

city7state city7states

nurse7practitioner nurse7practitioners

scholar7poet scholar7poets:n military usage, the term eneral, as part o an ocerPs title, is etymologically an ad2ective, but it has beenadopted as a noun and thus a head, so compound titles employing it are plurali$ed at the end

brigadier general brigadier generalsma2or general ma2or generals

6or compounds o three or more words that have a head )or a term unctioning as a head+ with an irregular pluralorm, only that term is plurali$ed

man7about7town men7about7town

man7o7war men7o7war

woman o the street women o the street6or many other compounds o three or more words with a head at the ront "especially in cases where thecompound is ad hoc and#or the head is metaphorical" it is generally regarded as acceptable to plurali$e either theSrst ma2or term or the last )i open when singular, such compounds tend to ta-e hyphens when plural in the latter

case+ham on rye hams on rye#ham7on7ryes

2ac-7in7the7box 2ac-s7in7the7box#2ac-7in7the7boxes

2ac-7in7the7pulpit 2ac-s7in7the7pulpit#2ac-7in7the7pulpits!ith a ew extended compounds, both terms may be plurali$ed"again, with an alternative )which may be moreprevalent, e.g., heads o! state+

head o state heads o states#heads o state

son o a bitch sons o bitches#sons7o7a7bitch


15/21

!ith extended compounds constructed around o2, only the last term is plurali$ed )or let unchanged i it is alreadyplural+

cat7oP7nine7tails cat7oP7nine7tails

2ac-7oP7lantern 2ac-7oP7lanterns

will7oP7the7wisp will7oP7the7wisps?ee also the 9eadless nouns section below.6rench compounds0any English compounds have been borrowed directly rom 6rench, and these generally ollow a somewhat dierentset o rules. 6rench7loaned compounds with a head at the beginning tend to plurali$e both words, according to 6renchpractice

agent provocateur agents provocateurs

entente cordiale ententes cordiales

ait accompli aits accomplis

idXe Sxe idXes Sxes

6or compounds adopted directly rom 6rench where the head comes at the end, it is generally regarded asacceptable either to plurali$e both words or only the last

beau geste beaux gestes#beau gestes

belle Xpo=ue belles Xpo=ues#belle Xpo=ues

bon mot bons mots#bon mots

bon vivant bons vivants#bon vivants

belFGH homme beaux hommesNotes: Jump up ̂: the ad2ectives "eau Qbeautiul#handsomeQ, nou#eau QnewQ, or #ieu QoldQ precede a masculine singularnoun beginning with a vowel or a mute QhQ, they are changed to "elA nou#elA and #ieilto help ease the pronunciation.

The normal plural rule applies to plural nouns.6rench7loaned compounds longer than two words tend to ollow the rules o the original language, which usuallyinvolves plurali$ing only the head at the beginning

aide7de7camp aides7de7camp

cri du coeur cris du coeur

coup dPXtat coups dPXtat

tour de orce tours de orce"ut

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#Headless_nounshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loanwordhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-31https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-31https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#Headless_nounshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loanwordhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-31https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-31


16/21

tte7q7tte tte7q7ttes distinctive case is the compound lm noir> 6or this 6rench7loaned artistic term, English7language texts variously useas the plural lms noirsA lms noirA and, most prevalently,lm noirs> The GGth edition o the standard 5erriam-$e"ster2s /olleiate %ictionary )J+ lists lm noirs as the preerred style. Three primary bases may be identiSed

or thisVnli-e other compounds borrowed directly rom 6rench, lm noir is used to reer primarily to English7languagecultural artiactsA a typically English7style plural is thus unusually appropriate.gain, unli-e other oreign7loaned compounds, lm noir reers speciScally to the products o popular cultureAconse=uently, popular usage holds more orthographical authority than is usual.English has adopted noir as a stand7alone noun in artistic contexts, leading it to serve as the lone head in a variety o compounds )e.g., psycho-noirA sci- noir +.Defective nounslurals without singulars?ome nouns have no singular orm. ?uch a noun is called a plurale tantum. Examplesinclude cattle, than1s, clothes )originally a plural o cloth+. particular set o nouns, describing things having two parts, comprises the ma2or group o pluralia tantum inmodern Englishglasses )a pair o spectacles+, pants, panties, pantyhose, pliers, scissors, shorts, suspenders, tongs )metalwor-ing coo-ing+, trousers, etc. These words are interchangeable with a pair o! scissors, a pair o! trousers, and so orth. :n the merican ashionindustry it is common to reer to a single pair o pants as a pant "though this is a bac-7ormation, the English word)deriving rom the 6rench pantalon+ was originally singular. :n the same Seld, one hal o a pair o scissors separatedrom the other hal is, rather illogically, reerred to as a hal!-scissor . *weezers used to be part o this group,but tweezer has come into common usage only since the second hal o the twentieth century. There are also some plural nouns whose singular orms exist, though they are much more rarely encountered thanthe plurals

nuptial >uptials

phalanxFGH halanges

Tiding Tidings

victual [ictuals

viscus [isceraNotes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plurale_tantumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectacleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantyhosehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scissorshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspendershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trousershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-formationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-32https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plurale_tantumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectacleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantyhosehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scissorshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspendershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trousershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-formationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-32


17/21

Jump up ̂:n medical terminology, a phalan is any bone o the Snger or toe. military phalan isplurali$ed phalanes.?ingulars without plurals0ass nouns )or uncountable nouns+ do not represent distinct ob2ects, so the singular and plural semantics do not

apply in the same way. ?ome examplesbstract nounsdeceit, inormation, cunning, and nouns derived rom ad2ectives, such as honesty, wisdom, beauty, intelligence,poverty, stupidity, curiosity, and words ending with QnessQ, such as goodness, reshness, la$iness, and nouns whichare homonyms o ad2ectives with a similar meaning, such as good, bad )can also use goodness and badness+, hot,and cold.:n the arts and scienceschemistry, geometry, surgery, the blues,FGH 2a$$, roc- and roll, impressionism, surrealism. This includes those that loo-plural but unction as grammatically singular in Englishmathematics )and in British English the shortened ormPmathsP+, physics, mechanics, dynamics, statics, thermodynamics, aerodynamics, electronics,hydrodynamics, robotics, acoustics, optics, computer graphics, cryptography, ethics, linguistics, etc.A

e.g., 5athematics is !unA 5ryptography is the science o codes and ciphersA theromodynamics is the science o heat./ata oten unctions as a singular in terms such as Pdata collectionP or Pdata processingP.5hemical elements and other physical entitiesaluminum )V?+ # aluminium )V+, copper, gold, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, e=uipment, urniture, trac, air and waterNotes: Jump up ̂Reerring to the musical style as a whole.?ome mass nouns can be plurali$ed, but the meaning in this case may change somewhat. 6or example, when : havetwo grains o sand, : do not have two sandsA : have sand. There is less sand in your pile than in mine, not ewersands. 9owever, there could be the many Qsands o ricaQ " either many distinct stretches o sand, or distinct typeso sand o interest to geologists or builders, or simply the allusive *he Sands o! 5ars.:t is rare to plurali$e !urniture in this way and in!ormation is never plurali$ed. There is only one class o atoms called oxygen, but there are several isotopes o oxygen, which might be reerred toas dierent oxygens. :n casual speech, oyen might be used as shorthand or Qoxygen atomsQ, but in this case, it isnot a mass noun, so it is entirely sensible to reer to multiple oxygens in the same molecule.@ne would interpret BobPs wisdoms as various pieces o BobPs wisdom )that is, donPt run with scissors, deer to thosewith greater -nowledge+, deceits as a series o instances o deceitul behavior )lied on income tax, dated my wie+,and the dierent idlenesses o the wor-er as plural distinct maniestations o the mass concept o idleness )or asdierent types o idleness, Qbone la$yQ versus Qno wor- to doQ+.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-32https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_nounhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-33https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerodynamicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roboticshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptographyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguisticshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-33https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologisthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sands_of_Marshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-32https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_nounhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-33https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerodynamicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roboticshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptographyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguisticshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-33https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologisthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sands_of_Mars


18/21

The pair specie and species both come rom a 4atin word meaning Q-indQ, but they do not orm a singular7plural pair.:n 4atin, specie is the ablative singular orm, while species is the nominative orm, which happens to be the same inboth singular and plural. :n English, species behaves similarly "as a noun with identical singular and plural"while specieis treated as a mass noun, reerring to money in the orm o coins )the idea is o QFpaymentH in -indQ+.Freerences JH

ingulars as plural and plurals as singularlural words becoming singularlural in orm but singular in construction5ertain words which were originally plural in orm have come to be used almost exclusively as singulars )usuallyuncountable+A or example "illiards, measles, news, mathematics, physics etc. ?ome o these words, such as news,are strongly and consistently elt as singular by fuent spea-ers. These words are usually mar-ed in dictionaries withthe phrase Qplural in orm but singular in constructionQ )or similar wording+. @thers, such as aesthetics, are lessstrongly or consistently elt as singularA or the latter type, the dictionary phrase Qplural in orm but singular or pluralin constructionQ recogni$es variable usage.lural orm became a singular orm

?ome words o oreign origin are much better -nown in their )oreign7morphology+ plural orm, and are oten noteven recogni$ed by English spea-ers as having plural ormAdescriptively, in English morphology many o thesesimply are not in plural orm, because English has naturali$ed the oreign plural as the English singular. Vsage o theoriginal singular may be considered pedantic, hypercorrective, or incorrectFreerences JGH by some spea-ers. :n theexamples below, the original plural is now commonly used as a singular, and in some cases a regular English plural)eectively a double plural+ has been ormed rom it.

!riginal singular!riginal plural"common singular

#ommon plural

gendum agendaFGH gendas

lga lgae lgae

Biscotto biscotti Biscotticandelabrum candelabra candelabras

datumFJH /ata data )mass noun+

8rato grati grati )mass noun+

:nsigne insignia :nsignias

anino panini paninis )currently gaining use+

papara$$o papara$$i papara$$i

spaghetto spaghetti spaghetti )mass noun+

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ablativehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominativehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-34https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphology_(linguistics)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_descriptionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercorrectionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-35https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_pluralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-36https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-37https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ablativehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominativehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-34https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphology_(linguistics)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_descriptionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercorrectionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-35https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_pluralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-36https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_note-37


19/21

Notes: Jump up ̂ 8n aenda commonly is used to mean a list o! aenda. Jump up ̂ single piece o data is sometimes reerred to as a data point . :n engineering, drating, surveying, andgeodesy, and in weight and balance calculations or aircrat, a datum )plural datums or data+ is a reerence point,

surace, or axis on an ob2ect or the earths surace against which measurements are made.5aazine was derived rom rabic via 6rench. :t was originally plural, but in 6rench and English, it is always regardedas singular.?ome other words whose plurals are sometimes misused as singulars include

5riterion 5riteria

phenomenon phenomenaPlurals of num$ers The ollowing rules apply to the plurals o numerical terms such as dozen, score, hundred, thousand, million, andsimilar!hen modiSed by a number, the plural is not infected, that is, has no -s added. 9ence one hundred, twomillion, !our score, etc. )The resulting =uantitative expressions are treated as numbers, in that they can modiynouns directly three dozen es, although o! is used beore pronouns or deSnite noun phrases three dozen o!them.o! those es.+!hen not modiSed by a number, the plural ta-es -s as usual, and the resulting expression is not a number )itre=uires o! i modiying a noun+ 0 ha#e hundreds, dozens o! complaints, the thousands o! people aected.!hen the modiSer is a vaguer expression o number, either pattern may be ollowed se#eral hundred(people) or se#eral hundreds (o! people).!hen the word has a speciSc meaning rather than being a simple expression o =uantity, it is plurali$ed as anordinary noun =ast season he scored eiht hundreds Fscores o at least G runsH. The same applies to othernumbers 5y phone num"er consists o! three #es and !our sies.>ote the expressions "y the dozen etc. )singular+A in threes Fin groups o threeH etc. )plural+A eiht se#ens are !ty-

si etc.%d&ectives as collective plurals5ertain ad2ectives can be used, uninfected, as plurals denoting people o the designated type. 6orexample, unemployed and homeless can be used to mean Qunemployed peopleQ and Qhomeless peopleQ, as in *hereare two million unemployed> ?uch usage is common with the deSnite article, to denote people o a certain typegenerally the unemployed, the homeless. This is common with certain nationalities the British, the %utch, the


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or this purpose (the) 8mericans, (the) Poles. 5ases where the ad2ective ormation is possible, but the noun providesa commonly used alternative, include the Scottish )or more commonly (the) Scots+, the %anish )or (the) %anes+, theinnish )or (the) inns+, the Swedish )or (the) Swedes+. The noun is normally used anyway when reerring to speciSc sets o people )#e renchmen, a !ew Spaniards+,

although the ad2ective may be used especially in case o a group o mixed or unspeciSed sex, i the demonym nounsare gender7speciSc there were #e rench )or rench people+ in the "ar )ineither renchmen or renchwomen would be appropriate+.References English :rregular lural >ouns Jump up ̂V>:T ?N ? @R :E? Jump up ̂Boo- titles include 0ary 6ulbroo-, *he *wo Germanies> 6CDE-6CC7 )Basingsto-e 0acmillan, G]]+A 9enryshby Turner, *he two Germanies since 6CDE )>ew 9aven ale V, G]ZU+. Jump up ̂Entry or QmoneyQ in dictionary.comO 1ump up toa b *he history o! the 5acmillan> p> FCC> O/=/ 667D>

Jump up ̂E.g. /ollins


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Jump up ̂s-@xord data Jump up ̂http##www.eisuJ.bham.ac.u-#2ohnst#revis.htm Jump up ̂Vo> ?tyle Boo- 7 ?ingular or plural 7 0edia and ublic Relations @ce 7 The Vniversity o >ottingham Jump up ̂http##openlearn.open.ac.u-#mod#resource#view.phpidGZJ]J

Jump up ̂s-@xord !hat are the plurals o PoctopusP, PhippopotamusP, PsyllabusP Jump up ̂HarperA %oulas> Specie> Online Jetrie#ed FC 8uust F767> Jump up ̂QThe word agenda, or example, was originally plural )rom agendum Psomething to be acted onP+ but isnowadays used only as a singular, and nobody in their right mind would insist that it should be used as aplural.Q http##www.eisuJ.bham.ac.u-#2ohnst#revis.htm Jump up ̂6owler, 9. !., 8 %ictionary o! 5odern ew or- and@xord @xord Vniversity ress, G]K+, NM.'in(sRules or :rregular lural 6ormation o >ouns summary by at Byrd, /epartment o pplied 4inguistics E?4, 8eorgia?tate Vniversityn lgorithmic pproach to English lurali$ation by /amian 5onway

6reebase luraliser : plural names o reebase.com topics by /avid 9uynl
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-24http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/data?view=ukhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-25http://www.eisu2.bham.ac.uk/johnstf/revis006.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-26http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/public-affairs/uon-style-book/singular-plural.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-27http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=182902https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-28http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/what-are-the-plurals-of-octopus-hippopotamus-syllabushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-34https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Harperhttp://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=speciehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-35http://www.eisu2.bham.ac.uk/johnstf/revis006.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-38https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fowler's_Modern_English_Usagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Gowershttp://www.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/pluralsn.htmhttp://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~damian/papers/HTML/Plurals.htmlhttp://english-utilities.freebaseapps.com/pluralize?text=moose&text=mousehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freebase.comhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Huynl&action=edit&redlink=1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-24http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/data?view=ukhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-25http://www.eisu2.bham.ac.uk/johnstf/revis006.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-26http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/public-affairs/uon-style-book/singular-plural.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-27http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=182902https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-28http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/what-are-the-plurals-of-octopus-hippopotamus-syllabushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-34https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Harperhttp://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=speciehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-35http://www.eisu2.bham.ac.uk/johnstf/revis006.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals#cite_ref-38https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fowler's_Modern_English_Usagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Gowershttp://www.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/pluralsn.htmhttp://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~damian/papers/HTML/Plurals.htmlhttp://english-utilities.freebaseapps.com/pluralize?text=moose&text=mousehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freebase.comhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Huynl&action=edit&redlink=1

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English Plurals grammatical rules regular and irregular