{"id":154366,"date":"2021-10-21T09:00:08","date_gmt":"2021-10-21T09:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.english-culture.com\/?p=154366"},"modified":"2021-10-21T09:13:41","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T09:13:41","slug":"plural-forms-in-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.english-culture.com\/plural-forms-in-english\/","title":{"rendered":"Plural forms in English"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The plural in English<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The reason it\u2019s worth standing up for punctuation is not that it\u2019s an arbitrary system of notation known only to an over-sensitive elite who have attacks of the vapours when they see it misapplied. The reason to stand up for punctuation is that without it there is no reliable way of communicating meaning. <\/span>
\nLynne Truss<\/span><\/p>\n

A philosopher once said, \u2018Half of good philosophy is good grammar.<\/span>
\nA. P. Martinich<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to take someone seriously when they leave you a note saying, \u2018Your ugly.\u2019 My ugly what? The idiot didn\u2019t even know the difference between your and you\u2019re.
\n<\/span>Cara Lynn Shultz<\/span><\/p>\n

The greater part of the world\u2019s troubles are due to questions and grammar. <\/span>
\nMichel de Montaigne<\/span><\/p>\n

People don\u2019t talk like this, theytalklikethis. Syllables, words, sentences run together like a watercolour left in the rain. To understand what anyone is saying to us we must separate these noises into words and the words into sentences so that we might in our turn issue a stream of mixed sounds in response. <\/span>
\nBill Bryson<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a satisfactory boniness about grammar which the flesh of sheer vocabulary requires before it can become a vertebrate and walk the earth. <\/span>
\nAnthony Burgess<\/span><\/p>\n

Grammar is the logic of speech, even as logic is the grammar of reason. <\/span>
\nRichard C. Trench<\/span><\/p>\n

Ill-fitting grammar are like ill-fitting shoes. You can get used to it for a bit, but then one day your toes fall off and you can\u2019t walk to the bathroom.<\/span>
\nJasper Fforde<\/span><\/p>\n

Grammar and logic free language from being at the mercy of the tone of voice. <\/span>
\nRosenstock Huessy<\/span><\/p>\n

Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: you find the present tense, but the past perfect! <\/span>
\nOwens Lee Pomeroy<\/span><\/p>\n

Every English poet should master the rules of grammar before he attempts to bend or break them. <\/span>
\nRobert Graves<\/span><\/p>\n

Do not be surprised when those who ignore the rules of grammar also ignore the law. After all, the law is just so much grammar. <\/span>
\nRobert Brault<\/span><\/p>\n

People who cannot distinguish between good and bad language, or who regard the distinction as unimportant, are unlikely to think carefully about anything else. <\/span>
\nB. R. Myers<\/span><\/p>\n

As Mario Pei wrote in his book The story of language, an essential concept of the language is that of number. We insist on defining persons and things as singular or plural. In this respect, English, which has discarded gender-terminations, retains an ending for the plural, at least for nouns. There are a few exceptions, like \u201cdeer,\u201d \u201csheep,\u201d \u201cgrouse,\u201d which will at least serve to explain to us in what manner some other languages manage to get along without distinctive plural forms.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The form of plural in English<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ancient Indo-European languages, notably Sanskrit and Greek, as well as the Semitic tongues, had, in addition to distinctive singular and plural forms, also a dual, indicating two. This, of course, was used especially for things that come in pairs, like eyes, hands, feet. But the dual proved cumbersome to Indo-European speakers, and was generally discarded. Arabic still makes use of a dual.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some Melanesian languages are said to possess pronoun forms indicating three and four. In some American Indian and native Australian languages, on the other hand, the grammatical distinction between singular and plural utterly fails to exist. The Sioux language has a distinctive plural only for animate beings. In Japanese a plural can be formed if it is deemed necessary, but it is seldom so deemed. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even where the plural is used, devices for forming it are extremely diverse. Mayan simply adds the word for \u201cthey\u201d to the singular. Many languages repeat the singular form (Bushman tu, \u201cmouth,\u201d tu-tu, \u201cmouths\u201d). Tahitian says \u201cheapman\u201d for \u201cmen.\u201d A language of Burma says \u201cdog-all\u201d for \u201cdogs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If we think it strange that a language should lack the distinction between \u201cdog\u201d and \u201cdogs,\u201d let us recall: 1) that we make no distinction between \u201csheep\u201d and \u201csheep\u201d; 2) that while we make the distinction in the noun or pronoun, we never make it in the adjective, and <\/span>seldom in the verb; our \u201cwhite dog,\u201d \u201cwhite dogs\u201d and \u201cI love,\u201d \u201cwe love\u201d seems almost as strange to a Frenchman as Japanese ko-domo, used indifferently for \u201cchild\u201d or \u201cchildren,\u201d does to us.<\/span><\/p>\n

The actual use of the plural form, where it definitely exists, does not always follow what seems a logical system to us. That we ourselves are not too logical in its application is illustrated by such timehonored expressions as \u201ca six-foot pole,\u201d \u201cten head of cattle,\u201d \u201ctwo <\/span>dozen eggs.\u201d Finnish and Hungarian always use the singular instead of the plural after numerals, so that a sentence like \u201cI see five man\u201d is natural to them. Arabic uses the plural with numerals from three to ten, the singular from eleven on. Russian has the genitive singular <\/span>of the noun after two, three and four, the genitive plural from five on (\u201cone house,\u201d \u201ctwo of house,\u201d \u201cfive of houses\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Plural<\/a>
Plural in English rules and examples<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Plural Nouns in English: Rules and Examples<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Most singular nouns are made plural by simply putting an -s at the end. There are many different rules regarding pluralization depending on what letter a noun ends in. Irregular nouns do not follow plural noun rules, so they must be memorized or looked up in the dictionary.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plural Noun Rules<\/span><\/p>\n

There are many plural noun rules, and because we use nouns so frequently when writing, it\u2019s important to know all of them! The correct spelling of plurals usually depends on what letter the singular noun ends in.<\/span>
\nArticle icon<\/span>
\nYour writing, at its best<\/span>
\nBe the best writer in the office.<\/span><\/p>\n

To make regular nouns plural, add s to the end.<\/span><\/p>\n

cat \u2013 cats<\/span>
\nhouse \u2013 houses<\/span><\/p>\n

If the singular noun ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z, add -es to the end to make it plural.<\/span><\/p>\n

truss \u2013 trusses<\/span>
\nbus \u2013 buses<\/span>
\nmarsh \u2013 marshes<\/span>
\nlunch \u2013 lunches<\/span>
\ntax \u2013 taxes<\/span>
\nblitz \u2013 blitzes<\/span><\/p>\n

In some cases, singular nouns ending in -s or -z, require that you double the -s or -z prior to adding the -es for pluralization.<\/span><\/p>\n

fez \u2013 fezzes<\/span>
\ngas \u2013gasses (note that gases is also an acceptable, and more commonly used, spelling of this plural noun)<\/span><\/p>\n

If the noun ends with -f or -fe, the f is often changed to -ve before adding the -s to form the plural version.<\/span><\/p>\n

wife \u2013 wives<\/span>
\nwolf \u2013 wolves<\/span><\/p>\n

Exceptions:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

roof \u2013 roofs<\/span>
\nbelief \u2013 beliefs<\/span>
\nchef \u2013 chefs<\/span>
\nchief \u2013 chiefs<\/span><\/p>\n

If a singular noun ends in -y and the letter before the -y is a consonant, change the ending to -ies to make the noun plural.<\/span><\/p>\n

city \u2013 cities<\/span>
\npuppy \u2013 puppies<\/span><\/p>\n

If the singular noun ends in -y and the letter before the -y is a vowel, simply add an -s to make it plural.<\/span><\/p>\n

ray \u2013 rays<\/span>
\nboy \u2013 boys<\/span><\/p>\n

If the singular noun ends in -o, add -es to make it plural.<\/span><\/p>\n

potato \u2013 potatoes<\/span>
\ntomato \u2013 tomatoes<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Irregular<\/a>
Irregular plurals in English<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Exceptions:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

photo \u2013 photos<\/span>
\npiano \u2013 pianos<\/span>
\nhalo \u2013 halos<\/span><\/p>\n

With the unique word volcano, you can apply the standard pluralization for words that end in -o or not. It\u2019s your choice! Both of the following are correct:<\/span><\/p>\n

volcanoes<\/span>
\nvolcanos<\/span><\/p>\n

If the singular noun ends in – us, the plural ending is frequently -i.<\/span><\/p>\n

cactus \u2013 cacti<\/span>
\nfocus \u2013 foci<\/span><\/p>\n

If the singular noun ends in – is, the plural ending is – es.<\/span><\/p>\n

analysis \u2013 analyses<\/span>
\nellipsis \u2013 ellipses<\/span><\/p>\n

If the singular noun ends in – on, the plural ending is – a.<\/span><\/p>\n

phenomenon \u2013 phenomena<\/span>
\ncriterion \u2013 criteria<\/span><\/p>\n

Some nouns don\u2019t change at all when they\u2019re pluralized.<\/span><\/p>\n

sheep \u2013 sheep<\/span>
\nseries \u2013 series<\/span>
\nspecies \u2013 species<\/span>
\ndeer \u2013deer<\/span><\/p>\n

You need to see these nouns in context to identify them as singular or plural. Consider the following sentence:<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark caught one fish, but I caught three fish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plural Noun Rules for Irregular Nouns<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Irregular nouns follow no specific rules, so it\u2019s best to memorize these or look up the proper pluralization in the dictionary.<\/span><\/p>\n

child \u2013 children<\/span>
\ngoose \u2013 geese<\/span>
\nman \u2013 men<\/span>
\nwoman \u2013 women<\/span>
\ntooth \u2013 teeth<\/span>
\nfoot \u2013 feet<\/span>
\nmouse \u2013 mice<\/span>
\nperson \u2013 people<\/span><\/p>\n

Countable and uncountable nouns<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It is not always obvious whether a word is countable or uncountable. Sometimes words can be countable with one meaning and uncountable with another, e.g. cold and a cold, taste and a taste, country (countryside) and a country. many uncountable nouns become countable when we are talking about kinds or varieties of things. A wine means “a kind of wine”; a sugar means “one of the class of chemicals called sugars”. Strictly speaking, we should talk about countable and uncountable uses of nouns, not about countable and uncountable nouns. <\/span>
\nMichael swan<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Countable<\/a>
Countable and uncountable plural forms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Countable<\/strong> nouns are the names of separate objects, people, ideas etc which can be counted. We can use numbers and the article a\/an with countable nouns; they have plural, a cat, three cats, a newspaper two newspapers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Uncountable<\/strong> (or \u2018mass\u2019) nouns are the names of materials, liquids, abstract qualities, collections and other things which we see as masses without clear boundaries, and not as separate objects. We cannot use numbers with uncountable nouns, and most are singular with no plurals. We do not normally use a\/an with uncountable nouns, though there are some exceptions; water (NOT a water, two waters) wool (NOT -a-wool, -two-wools) weather (NOT a weather, two weathers) Some determiners can only be used with countable nouns (e.g. many, few); others can only be used with uncountables (e.g. much, little).<\/span><\/p>\n

Problem cases.<\/strong> Usually it is easy to see whether a noun is countable or uncountable. Obviously house is normally a countable noun, and sand is not. But sometimes things are not so clear. For instance, travel and journey have very similar meanings, but travel is normally uncountable (it means \u2018travelling in general\u2019, and we do not talk about \u2018a travel\u2019), while journey is countable (a journey is one movement from one place to another). And many things can be seen both as a collection of separate elements and as a mass; some names for things of this kind are countable, while others are uncountable. Compare: Countable: bean(s), pea(s), grape(s), lentil(s), fact(s) Uncountable: rice, spaghetti, macaroni (and other pasta foods), sugar, salt, wheat, news.<\/span><\/p>\n

English and other languages.<\/strong> Not all languages treat things in the same way. For example, hair can be uncountable in English, but is plural countable in many languages; grapes is a plural countable word in English, but uncountable in some other languages. Here is a list of some common words which are usually uncountable in English, but which have countable equivalents in some other languages. Corresponding countable expressions are also given.<\/span><\/p>\n

Uncountable and Countable
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

accommodation \u2013 a place to live (Not an accomodation); advice \u2013 a piece of advice (Not an advice); baggage \u2013 a piece of baggage a case\/trunk\/bag; bread \u2013 a piece of bread a loaf\/a roll; chess \u2013 a game of chess; chewing gum \u2013 a piece of chewing gum; equipment \u2013 a piece of equipment, a tool etc; furniture \u2013 a piece\/article of furniture; grass \u2013 a blade of grass; information \u2013 a piece of information; knowledge \u2013 a fact; lightning \u2013 a flash of lightning; luck \u2013 a bit\/stroke of luck; luggage \u2013 a piece of luggage a case\/trunk\/bag; money \u2013 a note, a coin, a sum; news \u2013 a piece of news; permission \u2013 \u2014; poetry \u2013 a poem; progress \u2013 a step forward; publicity \u2013 an advertisement; research \u2013 a piece of research; rubbish \u2013 a piece of rubbish;\u00a0\u00a0spaghetti \u2013 a piece of spaghetti; thunder \u2013 a clap of thunder; traffic \u2013 \u2014; travel \u2013 a journey\/trip; <\/span>work \u2013 a job; a piece of work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here you can read the full article about countable and uncountable nouns plus the case study analysis of the word Thunder.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

At the following links you can also find a lot of useful and interesting English language material:<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is grammar so important?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The essence of Grammar<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

In defence of grammar<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Language and grammar<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The power of English<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Video links to learn good English<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Interactive English exercises and tests<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Thunder word analysis<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

English Grammar Summaries<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Italian English Short Grammar<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

English language idioms<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

www.daimon.org\/education\/english\/\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Lots of links\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Free Grammar Books<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

www.liveworksheets.com<\/a>\u00a0 All languages<\/span><\/p>\n

www.yourdictionary.com <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.eslfast.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

English Phonetic Symbols with reading examples<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.pppst.com\/<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lots of free Ppt<\/span><\/p>\n

All the Dictionaries you need<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/iteslj.org\/questions\/<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lots of questions\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

www.goethe-verlag.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lots of tests<\/span><\/p>\n

Improving-bad-grades<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Article<\/span><\/p>\n

www.perfect-english-grammar.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Test your level of English<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/agendaweb.org\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.daimon.org\/lib\/books.htm<\/a>\u00a0 Lots of free ebooks<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/epdf.pub\/en\/<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Lots of free ebooks<\/span><\/p>\n

www.english-online.org.uk\/exam.htm<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

visualdictionaryonline.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.englishmedialab.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.englishexercises.org<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.talkenglish.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.tuneintoenglish.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Karaoke songs<\/span><\/p>\n

Read carefully my friends, I have written more than 10,000 original quotes in Italian, they are all available in the Daimon Club<\/a> website and in my private electronic library I have something as 200,000 English quotes and thousands of books about everything, most of all classic texts on the English Language, its grammar, its vocabulary and on the main classic subjects taught at secondary school, college and university; therefore if you need something just visit The World Of English on Facebook<\/a>, like the page, write me, and let me know if I may be of assistance. Bye bye and remember, stay safe, be good and if you can\u2019t be good, at least be careful.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The reason it\u2019s worth standing up for punctuation is not that it\u2019s an arbitrary system of notation known only to an over-sensitive elite who have attacks of the vapours when they see …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1169,136,1220,141,718,830,1120,1086,143,831,11,24,16,171,132,12],"tags":[4129,140,4141,3354,1087,1179,1561,4142,4143,1110,1188,4132,109,168,3008,4130],"class_list":["post-154366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-communication","category-culture","category-english","category-english-world","category-essays","category-exercises","category-grammar","category-language","category-learning","category-literature","category-methodology","category-philosophy","category-quotes","category-the-world-of-english","category-writing","tag-countable","tag-english","tag-exceptions","tag-forms","tag-grammar-2","tag-greek","tag-indo-european","tag-irregular","tag-japanese","tag-language","tag-latin","tag-plural","tag-quotes","tag-rules-2","tag-speakers","tag-uncountable"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t