Even a person with a high level of English “suddenly” discovers that the list of irregular plural forms in English language is not limited to “teeth”, “men” and “children”. And the presence of the ending “ae” in a group of words of Latin origin is a complete revelation.
Let's look at it in detail:
1. Formation of the plural by changing the root of a word
| man – men; |
| woman – women; |
| child – children; |
| ox – oxen; |
| mouse – mice; |
| louse – lice; |
| foot – feet; |
| tooth – teeth; |
| goose - geese. |
2. Nouns ending in “f/fe”
Some nouns that end in “f/fe” form plural. number by changing “f/fe” to “ves”, for example:
| leaf – leaves; |
| loaf – loaves; |
| half – halves; |
| calf – calves; |
| wolf – wolves; |
| self – selves; |
| shelf – shelves; |
| elf – elves; |
| thief – thieves; |
| sheaf – sheaves; |
| life – lives; |
| wife - wives; |
| knife – knives. |
But some nouns that end in “f/fe” form their plural by adding an “s”, for example:
Nouns that end in “ff” add the ending “s” to form plural. numbers: sheriff – sheriffs; cuff - cuffs.
3. Same singular and plural form
Some nouns have the same singular and plural forms, for example:
| one sheep – two sheep; |
| a deer – two deer; |
| a bison – five bison; |
| a fish – two fish; |
| a salmon – several salmon; |
| a dozen – two dozen; |
| an aircraft – two aircraft; |
| a means – by all means; |
| a series – two series; |
| a species – different species. |
When such nouns are in the plural. number, they require a plural verb. number, for example:
Some fish are dangerous. Two sheep were in the forest. Modern aircraft are powerful machines.
Note: The word “fish” (herring, sprat, tuna, shark, etc.) in ordinary oral and written speech has the same singular and plural form. However, sometimes the plural form “fishes” (herrings, salmons, tunas, shrimps, etc.) can be used to refer to different species, varieties of individuals, for example: freshwater fish, aquarium fish. Some uncountable nouns masses are used in the plural in the same way when talking about various types, varieties, varieties, for example: the teas of India (types of Indian tea), soft cheeses (soft cheeses), etc.
4.Only in plural
Nouns that denote an inseparable pair are used in the plural. number and with a plural verb. numbers, for example:
5. Only in the singular
Uncountable nouns are not used in the plural. Some uncountable nouns are similar in form to the plural, have the ending “s”, but are used only in the singular and with a verb singular:
mathematics, physics, economics, phonetics, politics, billiards (game), dominoes (game), news, measles, mumps (disease), for example:
| Physics is his favorite subject. |
| Billiards is an interesting game. |
| No news is good news. (proverb) |
| Mumps is a serious disease. |
6. Latin and Greek plural forms
Some nouns of Latin and Greek origin have retained their own plural endings. numbers.
Plural ending h. “es” as in the word “analyses” is pronounced; the ending “i” as in the word “alumni” is pronounced , the ending “ae” is pronounced .
Nouns with Latin and Greek plural endings are divided into groups according to their endings. English plural ending the numbers “s/es” are also used with some of these nouns; in such cases, two options are given, and the option with English ending“s/es” is marked with the letter (E).
| Group 1 |
| analysis – analyzes |
| axis – axes |
| basis – bases |
| crisis – crises |
| hypothesis – hypotheses |
| oasis – oases |
| parenthesis – parentheses |
| theses - theses |
| Group 2 |
| alumnus – alumni |
| cactus – cactuses (E) / cacti |
| calculus – calculi/calculuses (E) |
| corpus – corpora |
| fungus - fungi |
| genus – genera / genuses (E) |
| hippopotamus – hippopotamuses (E) / hippopotami |
| octopus – octopuses (E) / octopi |
| papyrus – papyri |
| radius – radii/radiuses (E) |
| stimulus – stimuli |
| syllabus – syllabuses (E) / syllabi |
| terminus – termini/terminuses (E) |
| Group 3 |
| criterion – criteria |
| phenomenon – phenomena |
| Group 4 |
| addendum – addendum |
| bacterium - bacteria |
| curriculum – curriculums (E) / curriculum |
| datum – data |
| erratum - errata |
| forum – forums (E) / fora |
| medium – media |
| memorandum – memorandums (E) / memoranda |
| Group 5 |
| alumna – alumnae |
| dogma – dogmas (E) / dogmata |
| enigma – enigmas (E) / enigmata |
| formula – formulas (E) / formulae |
| stigma – stigmata / stigmas (E) |
| vertebra – vertebrae / vertebras (E) |
| Group 6 |
| appendix – appendixes (E) / appendices |
| matrix – matrices / matrixes (E) |
| index – indexes (E) / indices |
| vertex – vertexes (E) / vertices. |
And some more comments
Hello dear readers! Today you will learn how the plural is formed in English. The topic at first glance is not complicated, but there are many nuances that you should pay attention to.
In English, only countable nouns form the plural, that is, those that can be counted. Such nouns can have a singular or plural form. I think it's no secret to anyone what the plural is. If the singular is used to denote one thing or concept, then the plural is used to denote several things. So, now we will look at the basic rules for forming plurals in English. Plural of nouns in English
1. The plural of most nouns is formed by adding the ending −s to a singular noun.
−s reads:
[z] after vowels and voiced consonants
[s] after voiceless consonants
- a tie tie- tie s ties
- a teacher teacher— teacher s[ˈtiːʧəz] teachers
- a room room- room s rooms
- a map map— map s cards
2. Nouns that end in consonants s, ss, sh, ch, tch, x, plural endings take -es which reads [ɪz].
- a match match- match es[ˈmæʧɪz] matches
3. Nouns that end in a vowel -O, in the plural also take the ending -es.
- hero hero- hero es[ˈhɪərəʊz] heroes
- tomato tomato−tomato es tomatoes
If before the final -O there is a vowel, then the plural noun takes the ending -s.
- radio radio- radio s[ˈreɪdɪəʊz] radios
- kangaroo kangaroo— kangaroo s kangaroo
If a noun that ends in -O in the singular, is an abbreviation, then in the plural it also takes the ending -s.
- photo (graph) photo)— photo s[ˈfəʊtəʊz] photos
- kilo(gramme) kilo (gram)- kilo s[ˈkiːləʊz] kilograms
In some cases, variations are possible with −s And -es.
- flamingo flamingo— flamingo s flamingo es flamingo
- volcano volcano- volcano s, volcano es volcanoes
4. To nouns that end in -y, and before the end -y a consonant is added, the ending is added -es And at changes to i.
- a factory factory, factory− factor ies[ˈfæktəriz] factories, factories
In case before −y there is a vowel, no changes occur, and the plural is formed by adding the ending -s.
- a day day- day s days
5. Plural of some nouns that end in f, fe, is formed by substitution f consonant v and adding the ending -es. The following nouns obey this rule:
- сalf calf− cal ves calves
- half half− hal ves halves
- elf elf−el ves elves
- knife knife−kni ves knives
- leaf tree leaf−lea ves leaves
- life life−li ves life
- loaf loaf−loa ves loaves
- self self− sel ves ourselves
- sheaf bunch—shea ves[ʃiːvz] ligaments
- shelf shelf− shel ves[ʃɛlvz] shelves
- thief thief− thie ves[θiːvz] the thieves
- wife wife− wi ves wives
- wolf wolf −wolves wolves
In some cases, variations with endings are possible f And v.
- hoof hoof-hoo fs, hoo ves hooves
- scarf scarf—scar fs, scar ves scarves
- wharf pier—whar fs, whar ves piers
Plural of exclusion 6. Some nouns retain archaic plural forms. The plural of such nouns is formed by changing root vowel or by adding an ending —en.
- a man man− m e n men
- a woman woman− wom e n [ˈwɪmɪn] women
- brother ["brʌðər] brother− br e thr en["breðrɪn] brethren
- foot leg−f ee t legs
- goose goose-g ee se geese
- louse ["laus] louse−l i ce lice
- mouse mouse— m ic e mice
- tooth tooth-t ee th teeth
- a child [ʧaɪld] child− childr en[ˈʧɪldrən] children
- ox [ɒks] bull- ox en[ˈɒksən] bulls
7. In English, the singular and plural forms of some nouns are the same.
- craft ship - ships
- works factory - factories
- species["spi:ʃi:z] biol. species - species
- headquarters ["hed"kwɔ:təz] main department - central authorities
- alms [ɑːmz] alms − alms
- barracks [ˈbærəks] barracks - barracks
- corps military diploma housing - housings
- grouse partridge − partridge
- crossroads [ˈkrɒsˌrəʊdz] road intersections - crossroads
- deer deer - deer
- sheep [ʃiːp] sheep - sheep
- fish ["fɪʃ] fish - fish
- fruit fruit − fruit
- gallows [ˈgæləʊz] gallows - gallows
- trout trout − trout
- means means - means
- salmon ["sæmən] salmon - salmon
- series ["sɪəri:z] series − series
- swine pig - pigs
8. Some nouns that are of Latin or Greek origin have retained their archaic form in the plural.
- analysis [ə"næləsɪs] analysis− analyzes [ə"næləsi:z] tests
- axis ["æksɪs] axis− axes ["æksɪz] axes
- basis ["beɪsɪs] the basis− bases ["beɪsi:z] basics
- crisis ["kraɪsɪs] a crisis− crises ["kraɪsi:z] crises
- datum ["deɪtəm] given value− data ["deɪtə] data
- erratum typo− errata list of typos
- formula [ˈfɔ:rmjulə] formula− formulae ["fɔ:rmjuli:], formulas ["fɔ:rmjuləz] formulas
- locus ["ləukəs] location− loci ["ləusaɪ] locations
- memorandum [, memə"rændəm] record "for memory"− memoranda [, memə"rændə], memorandums [, memə"rændəmz] notes
- nucleus cell-nuclei cells
- phenomenon phenomenon− phenomenal phenomena
- radius ["reɪdɪəs], [ˈreɪdjəs] radius− radii ["reɪdɪaɪ] radii
- species [ˈspiːʃiːz] type, type- species [ˈspiːʃiːz] types, types
- thesis [ˈθiːsɪs] thesis- theses [θiːsiːz] theses
9. In English there are a number of nouns that are used only in the plural.
- binoculars − binoculars
- breeches ["brɪtʃɪz] − breeches
- glasses ["aɪglɑːsɪz] − glasses
- jeans [ʤiːnz]− jeans
- pajamas, pajamas − pajamas
- pliers [ˈplaɪəz] − pliers
- scissors [ˈsɪzəz] − scissors
- shorts ʃɔːts − shorts, panties
- stockings[ˈstɒkɪŋz] − socks
- tights − tights
- tongs - forceps
- trousers [ˈtraʊzəz] - trousers
- proceeds [ˈprəʊsiːdz] − income
- surroundings neighborhood
- riches [ˈrɪʧɪz] − wealth
- thanks [θæŋks] − Gratitude
- wages [ˈweɪʤɪz] − earnings
Pluralizing compound nouns
1. Compound nouns that are written together form the plural by adding an ending to the second element.
- schoolgirl schoolgirl— schoolgirl s schoolgirls
- policeman police officer— policem e n police
2. If a compound noun, which is written with a hyphen, includes the words man or woman, as one of components words, then all parts of the word take the plural.
- woman-writer writer− wom e n-writer s writers
- gentleman-farmer gentleman farmer− gentlem e n-farmer sgentleman farmers
3. Compound nouns, which are written with a hyphen, form the plural by changing the key element.
- family-name surname− family-name s surnames
- commander-in-chief commander in chief− commander s-in-chief commanders-in-chief
4. If there is no noun element in a compound noun, then the plural is formed by adding the ending −s to the last element.
- forget-me-not forget-me-not− forget-me-not s forget-me-nots
- merry-go-round carousel− merry-go-round s carousels
Note!
1. In English, some uncountable nouns can be used as countable nouns.
Uncountable: success - luck, success (in general terms))
- Success is in the details. − A scrupulous attitude to business is the path to success.
Calc. :a success successful result− success essuccessful results
- My new job is a success. − My new job is just a happy accident.
- We learn from our success es and failures. − We learn from our successes and mistakes.
2. In English, some nouns can agree with a verb in the singular or plural, depending on the context, without changing their form.
- My family is large. — My family is big.(Family as a whole)
- My family are early risers. — Everyone in our family gets up early. (Family is like a set of individual members of a team)
3. In English, the same noun can be countable in one meaning and uncountable in another.
Uncountable: iron − iron
Calcul.: an iron iron-iron s irons
4. In English, some nouns have endings -s have a singular meaning and accordingly agree with singular verbs.
Nouns have two numbers: singular and plural.
1. The singular number is characterized by the absence of an ending:
- a cup, a table, a teacher, a day.
2. The plural of nouns is formed using the ending -s or -es:
- a sea - seas, a tent - tents, a bus - buses.
However, you should know that:
singular nouns ending in -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z, form the plural using the ending -es:
a process - processes; a box - boxes;
nouns ending in -O, in the plural ending in -es or at -s:
hero - heroes, potato - potatoes, tomato - tomatoes
bamboos, photos, pianos, radios, solos, videos.
1. Some nouns form the plural by changing the root vowel:
a man - men, a woman - women, a tooth - teeth, a foot - feet;
a goose - geese, a mouse - mice, etc.
2. There are nouns in which the singular and plural forms are the same:
aircraft (plane - airplanes), deer (deer - deer);
means (means - means), salmon (salmon - salmon);
series (row - rows, series - series);
sheep (sheep - sheep), trout (trout - trout);
works (factory - factories).
3. Noun child children.
4. Noun Oh in the plural it has the form oxen.
5. Noun penny has a plural form rence when it comes to monetary amount, and shape pennies, if we mean individual coins:
It costs three pence. - It costs 3 pence.
Pennies are made of bronze. - Pence is made of bronze.
6. Nouns gate, sledge, watch, clock used in singular and plural:
The gate is open. - The gate is open.
My watch is slow. - My watch is slow.
(At the same time, in Russian the verb always has a plural form, although the noun itself is used in the singular.)
All the gates are open. - All gates are open.
He has two watches. - He has two hours.
7. Prefixed nouns man-, woman- have plural form on both sides of the word:
a man-servant - men-servants
8. Nouns that contain a preposition or adverb have an ending -s in its first part, if used in the plural:
a mother-in-law - mothers-in-law
a commander-in-chief - commanders-in-chief
9. Particularly noteworthy are nouns of Latin-Greek etymology, the formation of the plural of which has many options (it is difficult to list them, so we recommend that in cases where English language learners have doubts about the correctness of the option, check the plural in dictionaries):
- -us -es (chorus - choruses, circus - circuses, bonus - bonuses etc.), ending -i (stimulus - stimuli), have both options at the same time (cactus - cactuses/cacti; This group also includes words such as focus, nucleus, radius, syllabus);
- nouns of Latin origin -A can form plurals with the ending -ae (alumna - alumnae, larva - larvae), with ending -s (area - areas, arena - arenas, dilemma - dilemmas, diploma - diplomas, drama - dramas etc.), have both options (antenna - antennas, as a term in electronics, and antennae- in biology; formula - formulas V general meaning And formulae- in mathematics;
- nouns of Latin origin -um end in plural in -s (album - albums, museum - museums, chrysanthemum - chrysanthemums, stadium - stadiums etc.), on -a (stratum - strata, curriculum - curriculum), can have both options ( symposium - symposiums/symposia, memorandum - memorandums/memoranda and etc.);
- nouns of Latin origin -ex, -ix can have both double plural forms with endings -es And -ices (index - indices/indexes, appendix - appendices/appendixes, matrix - matrices/matrixes) or just the ending -ices at the noun codex - codes;
- nouns of Greek origin -is form the plural by changing the ending to -es (thesis - theses, crisis - crises, analysis - analyses, basis - bases etc.), there are cases of forming the plural by adding the ending -es (metropolis - metropolises) and many other variants of plural formation.
The English language, like Russian, is built on the interaction of various parts of speech, each of which has its own individuality. One of the most striking features of a noun is the category of number. Many of you know that the plural form is formed by adding the ending -s. But it's not that simple. In this case there are more exceptions than the rule itself.
When studying the plural number in English, you will have to strain and remember dozens of words and cases of their use. The ending - s in nouns does not always indicate plurality. How do you know how to put it correctly, how to say it correctly? We will divide all nouns into two large groups: changeable (variable) and immutable (invariable).
Variable nouns
- Regular nouns. Nouns that we can classify as “regular” form their plural form in English using endings - s: question-questions, group-groups. But, when adding - s, they arise features of writing.
1. if the word ends with - s, ss, sh, ch, x, z,
then we add es: box-boxes, bush - bushes, branch-branches.
2. if the word ends with acc + y,
then instead "y"
is written "i+es"
: city-cities, story-stories, lady-ladies. But if the structure goes vowel + y,
then at the end of the word only -s
without any changes: boy-boys, toy-toys, day-days.
3. if a singular word ends in agree + o,
then we add es
: tomatoes, potatoes, heroes.
But in words: vowel + o - s:
zoos, radios.
Exceptions:
1. photos- photos, kilos- kilograms, autos- cars, memos- memorandum, directive, note, logos- logos, torsos- torsos, sopranos- soprano, solos- solo, concertos- concerts, commandos- squads special purpose, Eskimos- Eskimos, piano- pianos (piano), video- videos (video).
2. two options: buffalo- buffaloes (buffalo), buffalos; volcano- volcanoes, volcanos (volcano); mosquito- mosquitoes, mosquitos (mosquito); zero- zeroes, zeros (zero); tornado- tornadoes, tornados (tornado), flamingo- flamigos, flamigoes (flamingos).
4. One more ending puts a spoke in our wheels: f (or fe) changes to -v (or ve) and adds - s. English plural words with this ending look like this: wife-wives, wolf-wolves, knife-knives, life-lives, half-halves, thief-thieves.
Exceptions:
1.belief- beliefs (faith), chef- chefs (cook), chief- chiefs (head, leader), proof - proofs (proof), roof- roofs (roof), safe- safes (safe), cliff- cliffs (cliff, cliff), cuff- cuffs (cuff).
2. have two correct options: scarfs- scarves (scarf), dwarfs- dwarves (dwarf, gnome), handkerchiefs- handkerchieves (handkerchief), hoofs- hooves (hoof), wharfs- wharves (pier), turfs- turves (turf).
- Irregular nouns. We can classify irregular nouns as those whose plural formation does not lend itself to any rule. This means that everything depends on your will, memory and desire.
1. The plural of nouns is formed by vowel changes :
man- men - men; woman- women - women; goose- geese - geese; tooth- teeth - teeth; foot- feet - feet, legs; mouse- mice - mice; louse- lice - lice
2. The plural is formed using the ending -en :
child— child r en - children; ox-oxen - bulls; brother- bretheren - brothers, brotherhoods
3. Words that have same shape both singular and plural.
a sheep- sheep (sheep); a swine- swine (pig); a deer- deer (deer); a fish- fish (fish - but: different types fish: fishes); a craft- craft (vessel); a salmon— salmon (salmon); a trout- trout (trout).
4. WITHfishing-foreigners , who came from Latin or Greek, but have already become full-fledged inhabitants " English world" If the word ends with:
- us - i : stimulus - stimuli - stimulus
- a - ae : vertebra - vertebrae - vertebra, spine
- um - a : datum - data - data
- is - es : basis - bases - basis, foundation, base
- on - a : phenomenon - phenomena - phenomenon
- ex, ix - ices: appendix - appendices - application
- eau - eaux: bureau - bureaux - bureau
Invariable nouns
1. There is a group of nouns that are used only in singular , which means they require the same verb after themselves.
- uncountable: sand, gold, water
- abstract: love, music, homework, advice
- some diseases: diabetes, mumps, meats, rabies, rickets, shingles
- some games, despite the ending -s: bowls, billiards, drawghts, darts, skittes
- word news
- names of objects ending in ics: aerobics, classics, genetics, linguistics, mathematics, phonetics, statistics
- some proper names: Athes, Brussels, Wales, the United States, The United Nations
- collective nouns: money, information, jewellery, fruit(but fruits in plural: several types of fruits)
- Let us separate into a separate group nouns that sound plural in Russian and singular in English:
applause (applause), cream (cream), debate (debate), fightings (fights), gossip (gossip, rumors), hair (hair), ink (ink), knowledge (knowledge), gate (gate), watch (watch ),vacation (vacation)
2. A similar situation exists with other nouns that can be used only in the plural (Plurals).
- Nouns denoting a pair: braces, shorts, glasses, trousers, binoculars, jeans, leggins, tights, scissors, scales. But, if we still need to mark the singular number, then in front of these nouns we will put the phrase: a pair of (jeans), and then we will use a singular verb.
- Substantivized adjectives denoting people: the rich (rich), the poor (poor), the old (old people), the young (youth), the English (English).
- Some proper names: the Netherlands, the Midlands, the Hebriedes, the East Indies
- A couple of nouns that have a singular form in Russian and a plural form in English:
wages ( wage), sweepings (garbage), the contents of the book (contents), arms (weapons), greens (greens), looks (view), stairs (stairs), manners (manners), minutes (protocol), outskirts (outskirts) , riches (wealth), thanks (gratitude), The Middle Ages (Middle Ages).
Plural of compound nouns
- The plural number of such nouns is usually formed with -s, which is added to the last element: housewife - housewives, shoe-shop - shoe-shops.
- If the composition contains the words “woman, man”, then the two words take the plural form: woman-doctor - women-doctors, man - driver - men - drivers(But, if the word is written together, then only men, woman: policemen)
- If the composition contains prepositions, then the first element takes the plural form: mothers-in-law, men-of-war, editors-in-chief. If the word consists of: noun + preposition, then add only to the noun: passers-by, lookers-on. But if there is a conjunction, then to the second word: gin-and-tonics.
- But if the word does not contain a noun, but it has such a meaning, then we add the ending -s to the entire phrase: forget-me-nots (forget-me-nots), merry-go-rounds (carousels), stand-bys (followers), grown-ups (adults), pick-ups (random acquaintances), drop-outs (deserters).
As you can see, the rule “Plurals in English” is a complete exception. But don’t grab your head or think that you can’t remember it. Millions already know this by heart, which means you can too. A little patience, diligence and practice is all you need to absorb all the information.
