CHAPTER 13.

NOUNS: THE FORMATION OF PLURALS

A noun is a word used as the name of a person or a thing. In the following examples, the nouns are underlined. He opened the parcel. She is a student. The weather is warm. A cat is sitting on the steps. 1. Proper nouns Names of individual persons or things are referred to as proper nouns. In English, proper nouns must begin with a capital letter. The underlined words in the following sentences are proper nouns. e.g. The capital of England is London. My friend, George, is an American. 2. Countable nouns Countable nouns are nouns which can form a plural, and which can be preceded by a, an, or a number. In the following examples, the countable nouns are underlined. e.g. A bus is coming. You may need an umbrella. Here are two books. Twenty students are present. 3. The formation of plurals In general, when a countable noun refers to two or more things, it must be put into the plural. In English, the plural of most countable nouns is formed by adding s. For example: Singular hat letter pencil student Plural hats letters pencils students

It has already been explained that a verb must agree with its subject. When the subject of a verb is a singular noun, the verb must be in the third person singular. The third person singular is the form of the verb used with the personal pronouns he, she, and it. When the subject of a verb is a plural noun, the verb must be in the third person plural. The third person plural is the form of the verb used with the personal pronoun they. In the following examples, the verbs are printed in bold type and their subjects are underlined. Singular Subject: The book is interesting. Plural Subject: The books are interesting. Singular Subject: A duck was flying overhead. Plural Subject: Two ducks were flying overhead.

Singular Subject: One student lives here. Plural Subject: Three students live here. a. Nouns ending in ch, s, sh, x or z For nouns ending in ch, s, sh, x or z, the plural is formed by adding es. The reason for this is that these words would be difficult to pronounce if only s were added. The ending es is pronounced as a separate syllable. For example: Singular branch match bus pass dish marsh ax fox buzz Plural branches matches buses passes dishes marshes axes foxes buzzes

It should be noted that when a plural is formed by adding s to words ending in ce, ge, se or ze, the final es is pronounced as a separate syllable. For example: Singular place voice change page house phrase size Plural places voices changes pages houses phrases sizes

In each of the preceding examples, the singular noun consists of one syllable, whereas the plural noun consists two syllables. b. Nouns ending in y Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant usually form the plural by changing the y to i and adding es. For example: Singular candy city lady story Plural candies cities ladies stories

Nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel usually form the plural simply by adding s. For example: Singular boy day key Plural boys days keys

toy

toys

c. Plurals of proper nouns Proper nouns form plurals following the rules given above, except that proper nouns ending in y always form the plural simply by adding s, even when the y is preceded by a consonant. For example: Singular Jill Tom George Grace Jones Max May Nancy Sally Plural Jills Toms Georges Graces Joneses Maxes Mays Nancys Sallys

d. Nouns ending in f or fe Some English nouns ending in f or fe change the f to v when forming the plural. For instance, the following nouns ending in f form the plural by changing the f to v and adding es: Singular calf elf half leaf loaf self sheaf shelf thief wolf Plural calves elves halves leaves loaves selves sheaves shelves thieves wolves

In addition, the following nouns ending in fe form the plural by changing the f to v and adding s: Singular knife life wife Plural knives lives wives

There are also a few nouns ending in f which can form the plural in two different ways. For example: Singular hoof scarf staff wharf Plural hoofs or hooves scarfs or scarves staffs or staves wharfs or wharves

Most other nouns ending in f or fe form the plural simply by adding s.

e. Nouns ending in o Some English nouns ending in o form the plural by adding s, some form the plural by adding es, and some can form the plural by adding either s or es. The following fairly commonly used nouns form the plural by adding es: Singular archipelago cargo echo hero innuendo mosquito potato tomato tornado torpedo veto volcano Plural archipelagoes cargoes echoes heroes innuendoes mosquitoes potatoes tomatoes tornadoes torpedoes vetoes volcanoes

Most other nouns ending in o, particularly those of Spanish or Italian origin, can form the plural simply by adding s; however a good dictionary should be consulted in cases of doubt. For example: Singular albino alto casino piano radio ratio silo solo sombrero soprano studio Plural albinos altos casinos pianos radios ratios silos solos sombreros sopranos studios

f. Foreign words Many words from other languages have been adopted into the English language. Most of these form the plural by adding s or es, but some, particularly Greek and Latin words used for scientific purposes, form the plural in the same way that they do in the original language. For example: Singular analysis axis basis crisis criterion honorarium hypothesis medium nebula Plural analyses axes bases crises criteria honoraria hypotheses media nebulae

nucleus oasis parenthesis phenomenon spectrum stimulus stratum synopsis synthesis thesis vertebra

nuclei oases parentheses phenomena spectra stimuli strata synopses syntheses theses vertebrae

g. Hyphenated nouns In the case of nouns formed from two or more words joined by hyphens, usually only the last word forms a plural. However, there are a few cases in which only the first word forms a plural. For example: Singular brother-in-law daughter-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law runner-up sister-in-law son-in-law Plural brothers-in-law daughters-in-law fathers-in-law mothers-in-law runners-up sisters-in-law sons-in-law

h. Numbers and letters Numbers, letters, and other symbols can form plurals by adding 's. For example: Singular 3 b % Plural 3's b's %'s

i. Irregular plurals The English language has not always used s to form plurals. There are still a few words surviving from Old English, which do not use s to form the plural. For example: Singular child foot goose tooth louse mouse ox man woman Plural children feet geese teeth lice mice oxen men women

Nouns ending in man usually form the plural by changing man to men. For example:

Singular gentleman policeman policewoman

Plural gentlemen policemen policewomen

A few nouns do not change in the plural. For example: Singular deer sheep salmon Plural deer sheep salmon