Subscribe (RSS)Nouns have two numbers:
- singular
- plural
Singular number nouns denote one object.
For example
Horse, river, and nation each denote one object and are singular in number.
Plural number nouns denote more than one object.
For example
Horses, rivers, and nations each denote more than a single object and are plural in number.
Regular Formation of the Plural
The plural of nouns is regularly formed two ways:
- by adding s, when the singular ends with a sound that can coalesce with an s.
- by adding es when the singular ends with a sound that cannot coalesce with s.
- when s only is added, it has the voiced sound of z when it unites or coalesces with a vowel.
For example
Book becomes books.
Tree becomes trees.
For example
Box becomes boxes.
Church becomes churches.
When es is added, s has the voiced sound of z.
For example
Fox becomes foxes.
Branch becomes branches.
For example
Folio becomes folios.
Flea becomes fleas.
This follows the rule for the combination of consonants when it follows a consonant. The sound is that of an s when it follows an aspirate.
For example
Hat becomes hats.
Cap becomes caps.
Surf becomes surfs.
Clock becomes clocks.
The sound is a z when it follows a subvocal.
For example
Lad becomes lads.
Log becomes logs.
Farm becomes farms.
Fan becomes fans.
War becomes wars.
The s or es adds a syllable when it does not coalesce with the final syllable of the singular.
For example
Church becomes churches.
Race becomes races.
Cage becomes cages.
The s or es does not add a syllable when it coalesces with the final syllable.
For example
Work becomes works.
Echo becomes echoes.
Irregular Formation of the Plural
When the final s, contrary to the rule, is subvocal, after the aspirate sounds f, the f must be changed into its correlative v. A;so notice that in this case, the letter in the spelling of the word also changes.
For example
Loaf becomes loaves.
Life becomes lives.
Sheaf becomes sheaves.
Thief becomes thieves.
When f is aspirate, as in the plural of dwarf, brief, scarf, reef, chief, grief, kerchief, handkerchief, gulf, surf, turf, serf, proof, hoof, roof, safe, fife, strife, the f is not changed.
Staff when it means a stick, has staves for its plural. When it means a set of officers, the plural is staffs.
The plural of wharf, in the United States, is wharves. In England the plural is wharfs.
The s added to the aspirate is also sub-vocal except in truth, youth, and a few other words. Adding the s causes a similar change in the orthography of the plural were not the correlative also represented by th.
For example
Oath becomes oaths.
Bath becomes baths.
Most nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant, add es even though s alone would coalesce.
For example
Cargo becomes cargoes.
However, for the words zero, canto, grotto, quarto, duodecimo, octavo, solo, portico, tyro, halo, piano, memento, while most writers add only s, some writers add es. Both forms are acceptable.
Nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel follow the general rule.
For example
Folio becomes folios.
Cameo becomes cameos.
Nouns ending in y proceeded by a consonant change y into ie and add s.
For example
Glory becomes glories.
Mercy becomes mercies.
Nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel form the plural regularly.
For example
Day becomes days.
Key becomes keys.
The following plurals are irregular:
- Man becomes men.
- Woman becomes women.
- Ox becomes oxen.
- Goose becomes geese.
- Child becomes children.
- Foot becomes feet.
- Louse becomes lice.
- Mouse becomes mice.
- Tooth becomes teeth.
Note
The old form plural of cow was kine.
Some nouns have both a regular and an irregular plural, but the two forms have usually different meaning.
For example
Brother becomes brothers in current usage and when it refers to members of the family. In past usage, the plural of brother when it referred to members of the same society was brethren.
The word die becomes dies when it refers to a machine tool or stamps. The plural is dice when it refers to the cubes used in playing games and gambling.
The word genius becomes geniuses when it refers to persons of high intelligence. It becomes genii when it refers to spirits.
The word index becomes indexes when it refers to tables of reference. The plural is indices when referring to signs in algebra.
Names of substances and most abstract nouns commonly have no plural form.
For example
Gold, cider, flax, milk, tar, goodness, and darkness do not have plurals in their normal meaning.
When different kinds of the substances are referred to by a single word, the plural form is used.
For example
Water becomes waters when referring to several different kinds or bodies of water.
Wine becomes wines when referring to several different kinds of wine.
In compound words, if the word denoting the principal idea is placed first, it is changed to form the plural.
For example
The plural of court-martial is courts-martial.
The plural of hanger-on is hangers-on.
If the principal word is placed last, the final word is changed.
For example
Handful becomes handfuls.
Both parts, seemingly equally prominent, are changed in man-servant, woman-servant, and knight-templar.
For example
Man-servant becomes men-servants.
Woman-servant becomes women-servants.
Knight-templar becomes knights-templars.
Letters, marks, figures, and signs are pluralized by adding an apostrophe (‘) and s.
The plural of groups of years such as the 1940s is written without an apostrophe.
For example
the s’s;
the U’s;
the *’s;
the 9′s;
the + ‘s
When other parts of speech are used as nouns, their plurals are formed regularly.
For example
the ifs, ands, and buts
the whys and wherefores
at sixes and sevens
Many nouns from foreign languages retain their original plurals.
For example
The plural of antithesis is antitheses.
The plural of automaton is automata.
The plural of basis is bases.
The plural of beau is beaux.
The plural of crisis is crises.
The plural of datum is data.
The plural of ellipsis is ellipses.
The plural of focus is foci.
The plural of formula is formulae.
The plural of hypothesis is hypotheses.
The plural of medium is media.
The plural of minutia is minutiae.
The plural of metamorphosis is metamorphoses.
The plural of nebula is nebulae.
The plural of phenomenon is phenomena.
The plural of radius is radii.
The plural of seraph is seraphim.
The plural of stimulus is stimuli.
The plural of vortex is vortices.
Plural of Proper Names
In normal usage, the proper name an individual person or object has no plural. Also, the name of a state or country has no plural.
For example
Virginia does not normally have a plural.
Thanksgiving does not normally have a plural.
Dwight Eisenhower in its normal meaning does not have a plural.
When several members of the same family or several people with the same name are refered to, the proper name may have a plural form.
For example
the Tudors
the twelve Caesars
The proper names of ethnic groups, communities, and citizens of a nation are plural.
For example
the Indians
the Baptists
the Texans
the Romans
The plurals of proper names are formed, as a general rule, according to the analogy of common names.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Canada | Canadas |
| Methoist | Methodists |
| Otto | Ottoes |
| Ptolemy | Ptolemies |
When two or more names, applied to the same individual, stand next to each other, they are generally considered as one complex name, and are made plural by varying the last only.
For example
the George Washingtons
May there not be Sir Isaac Newtons in every science?
When a title, such as Miss, Mrs., Mr., Ms., Messrs., Gen., Capt., or Dr., is prefixed to a proper name, usage in the past was not uniform in the formation of the plural. Sometimes the title, sometimes the name, and sometimes both, have been varied.
For example
the Drs. Brown
the Mr. Thompsons
the Capts. Winthrops
In current usage, these plurals are seldom used at all and the plural would normally be formed by making the last element only plural.
For example
the Dr. Browns
the Mr. Thompsons
the Capt. Winthrops
Remarks on the Number of Nouns
Nouns without a plural
Most proper nouns and nouns denoting substance, except when different sorts are expressed, have no plural.
For example
The nouns gold, grass, and wine normally do not have plurals.
When speaking of several different kinds of wine, gold, or grass, the words wines, golds, and grasses can be used.
For example
They will try the wines of France and of Italy.
Kentucky blue and rye are two very different grasses.
Nouns without the singular
In normal usage, the following nouns have no singular:
- scissors
- vespers
- ashes
- clothes
- billiards
- vitals
- bellows
- drawers
- nippers
- tongs
- shears
Lungs, bowels, and some others, have a singular denoting a part of the whole. Embers, oats, and intestines are seldom used in the singular.
The following words are plural in respect to their original form, but singular or plural in respect to their meaning:
- alms
- amends
- news
- riches
- pains (meaning effort)
- odds
- wages
- molasses
- series
- suds
- corps
- measles
- tidings
- mumps
- rickets
- nuptials
The names of some of the sciences, such as mathematics, ethics, optics, statistics, mechanics, and linguistics are plural in form but either singular or plural in meaning.
Nouns either singular or plural
Some nouns are alike in both numbers.
For example
vermin
trout
swine
salmon
dozen
yoke
deer
sheep
gross
At this point proceed to Exercise 3.
