*Plurals*
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How are nouns made plural?
Plurals of nouns are used to indicate when there is more than one person, place, animal, or thing.
The normal method for making nouns plural is to add an “-s” at the end of the noun.
For example:
one boy – two boys
one girl – two girls
one pen – two pens
one pencil – two pencils
one prize – two prizes
one price – two prices
If a noun ends in “-s,” “-x,” “-z,” or with a cluster of consonants, such as “-sh,” “-ch,” or “-tch” (as in “watch”), we add “-es” to render it plural.
For example:
one coach – two coaches
one witch – two witches
one dish – two dishes
one box – two boxes
one bus – two buses
one kiss – two kisses
one waltz – two waltzes
Words ending in “-y”
When the noun ends in a “-y” and it is preceded by a consonant, we change “y” to “i” and add “-es.”
For example:
one country – two countries
one city – two cities
one gallery – two galleries
one baby – two babies
one lady – two ladies
one reality – two realities
one fly – two flies
one butterfly – two butterflies
However, when a word ends in a “-y” preceded by a vowel, then we simply add an “-s” as usual:
one toy – two toys
one play – two plays
one key – two keys
one guy – two guys
Irregular plurals
There are some nouns that are irregular. They do not adhere to spelling rules, and so these need to be memorized.
Here are the most common ones:
one man – two men
one woman – two women
one person – two people*
one mouse – two mice
one goose – two geese
one child – two children
one tooth – two teeth
one foot – two feet
(*Persons is also a plural form of person, but in modern English it is usually reserved for more formal, bureaucratic, or legal language, as in, “Any such persons found to guilty of shoplifting will be prosecuted.”)
Be aware that irregular plural nouns cannot be made plural again; that is, you cannot have childrens, or feets. However, people is an exception—it can be pluralized as peoples in some cases.
Adding “-ves” vs. “-s”
With some nouns that end in “-f,” “-fe,” or “-lf,” we replace the endings with “-ves” to make them plural. Below is a list of some common examples:
one life – two lives
one wife – two wives
one loaf – two loaves
one leaf – two leaves
one knife – two knives
one thief – two thieves
one calf – two calves
one half – two halves
one wolf – one wolves
However, many other words that end in “-f,” “-fe,” or “-lf” are simply made plural with an “-s” on the end. Here are some common examples:
one chief – two chiefs
one brief – two briefs
one safe – two safes
one gulf – two gulfs
one belief – two beliefs
one roof – two roofs
And yet some other words can receive either “-ves” or “-s,” such as:
one handkerchief – two handkerchiefs – two handkerchieves
one hoof – two hoofs – two hooves
one scarf – two scarfs – two scarves
Unfortunately, there is no steadfast rule for which words will receive a “-ves” ending, an “-s” ending, or both—they are irregular and have to be memorized.
Words ending in “-ff” or “-ffe”
Words ending in “-ff” or “-ffe,” on the other hand, have straightforward plural forms: we simply add “-s” to the end, as in:
one cliff – two cliffs
one bailiff – two bailiffs
one giraffe – two giraffes
one gaffe – two gaffes
Words with the same plural and singular forms
We also have some nouns that remain the same in singular and plural.
For example:
one fish – two fish*
one sheep – two sheep
one bison – two bison
one aircraft – two aircraft
(*Note that fish can also be pluralized as fishes. However, it is more common for this “-es” form to be used in reference to more than one kind of fish, as opposed to multiple fish in general.)
Uncountable nouns
Although similar in nature to the above nouns, uncountable nouns refer to things that cannot be divided into individual units, and that therefore cannot be made plural at all.
For example:
rice
butter
milk
advice
news
To quantify them, we need to use a unit of measure, such as one pound of rice, a bottle of milk, a piece of advice, etc.
The rules surrounding these can be quite complex, so see the section on Uncountable Nouns to learn more.
Words from Latin or Greek
There are also nouns taken from Latin or Greek that maintain their original forms in the plural. However, as we’ll see, some of these words have begun shifting towards more conventional plural forms, in addition to their original spellings.
For example:
index – indices (indexes is now also acceptable)
appendix – appendices (appendixes is now also acceptable)
fungus – fungi
criterion – criteria
nucleus – nuclei
syllabus – syllabi
focus – foci
cactus – cacti (cactuses is now also acceptable)
thesis – theses
crisis – crises
phenomenon – phenomena
Non-Existent Plural Adjectives
In many languages, especially languages deriving from Latin, adjectives become plural when they are used to describe plural nouns. However, in English, adjectives are never made plural.
For example:
“Two blue pens.” (correct)
“Two blues pens.” (incorrect)
“Roses are red.” (correct)
“Roses are reds.” (incorrect)
“Several 10-year-old boys.” (correct)
“Several 10-years-old boys.” (incorrect)
“Several 10-year-olds boys.” (incorrect)
As you can see, it is always the noun that is pluralized, and never the adjective.
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Spardhaspoorticlassic
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How are nouns made plural?
Plurals of nouns are used to indicate when there is more than one person, place, animal, or thing.
The normal method for making nouns plural is to add an “-s” at the end of the noun.
For example:
one boy – two boys
one girl – two girls
one pen – two pens
one pencil – two pencils
one prize – two prizes
one price – two prices
If a noun ends in “-s,” “-x,” “-z,” or with a cluster of consonants, such as “-sh,” “-ch,” or “-tch” (as in “watch”), we add “-es” to render it plural.
For example:
one coach – two coaches
one witch – two witches
one dish – two dishes
one box – two boxes
one bus – two buses
one kiss – two kisses
one waltz – two waltzes
Words ending in “-y”
When the noun ends in a “-y” and it is preceded by a consonant, we change “y” to “i” and add “-es.”
For example:
one country – two countries
one city – two cities
one gallery – two galleries
one baby – two babies
one lady – two ladies
one reality – two realities
one fly – two flies
one butterfly – two butterflies
However, when a word ends in a “-y” preceded by a vowel, then we simply add an “-s” as usual:
one toy – two toys
one play – two plays
one key – two keys
one guy – two guys
Irregular plurals
There are some nouns that are irregular. They do not adhere to spelling rules, and so these need to be memorized.
Here are the most common ones:
one man – two men
one woman – two women
one person – two people*
one mouse – two mice
one goose – two geese
one child – two children
one tooth – two teeth
one foot – two feet
(*Persons is also a plural form of person, but in modern English it is usually reserved for more formal, bureaucratic, or legal language, as in, “Any such persons found to guilty of shoplifting will be prosecuted.”)
Be aware that irregular plural nouns cannot be made plural again; that is, you cannot have childrens, or feets. However, people is an exception—it can be pluralized as peoples in some cases.
Adding “-ves” vs. “-s”
With some nouns that end in “-f,” “-fe,” or “-lf,” we replace the endings with “-ves” to make them plural. Below is a list of some common examples:
one life – two lives
one wife – two wives
one loaf – two loaves
one leaf – two leaves
one knife – two knives
one thief – two thieves
one calf – two calves
one half – two halves
one wolf – one wolves
However, many other words that end in “-f,” “-fe,” or “-lf” are simply made plural with an “-s” on the end. Here are some common examples:
one chief – two chiefs
one brief – two briefs
one safe – two safes
one gulf – two gulfs
one belief – two beliefs
one roof – two roofs
And yet some other words can receive either “-ves” or “-s,” such as:
one handkerchief – two handkerchiefs – two handkerchieves
one hoof – two hoofs – two hooves
one scarf – two scarfs – two scarves
Unfortunately, there is no steadfast rule for which words will receive a “-ves” ending, an “-s” ending, or both—they are irregular and have to be memorized.
Words ending in “-ff” or “-ffe”
Words ending in “-ff” or “-ffe,” on the other hand, have straightforward plural forms: we simply add “-s” to the end, as in:
one cliff – two cliffs
one bailiff – two bailiffs
one giraffe – two giraffes
one gaffe – two gaffes
Words with the same plural and singular forms
We also have some nouns that remain the same in singular and plural.
For example:
one fish – two fish*
one sheep – two sheep
one bison – two bison
one aircraft – two aircraft
(*Note that fish can also be pluralized as fishes. However, it is more common for this “-es” form to be used in reference to more than one kind of fish, as opposed to multiple fish in general.)
Uncountable nouns
Although similar in nature to the above nouns, uncountable nouns refer to things that cannot be divided into individual units, and that therefore cannot be made plural at all.
For example:
rice
butter
milk
advice
news
To quantify them, we need to use a unit of measure, such as one pound of rice, a bottle of milk, a piece of advice, etc.
The rules surrounding these can be quite complex, so see the section on Uncountable Nouns to learn more.
Words from Latin or Greek
There are also nouns taken from Latin or Greek that maintain their original forms in the plural. However, as we’ll see, some of these words have begun shifting towards more conventional plural forms, in addition to their original spellings.
For example:
index – indices (indexes is now also acceptable)
appendix – appendices (appendixes is now also acceptable)
fungus – fungi
criterion – criteria
nucleus – nuclei
syllabus – syllabi
focus – foci
cactus – cacti (cactuses is now also acceptable)
thesis – theses
crisis – crises
phenomenon – phenomena
Non-Existent Plural Adjectives
In many languages, especially languages deriving from Latin, adjectives become plural when they are used to describe plural nouns. However, in English, adjectives are never made plural.
For example:
“Two blue pens.” (correct)
“Two blues pens.” (incorrect)
“Roses are red.” (correct)
“Roses are reds.” (incorrect)
“Several 10-year-old boys.” (correct)
“Several 10-years-old boys.” (incorrect)
“Several 10-year-olds boys.” (incorrect)
As you can see, it is always the noun that is pluralized, and never the adjective.
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Spardhaspoorticlassic
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