Entry #667984, added on 01-09-10 @ 3:11 pm EST
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| Issue 3: Unusual Plurals | Entry #667984 |
September 30, 2009
 About This Newsletter
In this issue, we'll discuss several common types of irregular plurals and give a few hints for remembering which nouns go in which column.
Letter from the Editor
In the last issue, "Issue 2: Plurals vs. Possessives"  , we discussed using s and es — never an apostrophe — to pluralize words. While this is true for most nouns, there are many notable exceptions.
The following are several types of pluralization, with examples. By no means is this a complete list; however, it should give you a strong footing. If you notice a category that I miss, please write in and let me know. I'll add it to the version of this newsletter in the archive for future reference.
 -s
banana — bananas
street — streets
Pretty simple. This is the most basic, and most common, way to form plurals.
-es
kiss — kisses
bush — bushes
Note: sometimes the spelling of the noun changes when you add an -s or -es. This consistently happens when the noun ends in a vowel "y": fly — flies; family — families. It also happens with devoiced consonants, such as "f": thief — thieves; shelf — shelves. The same happens with "x": index — indices, appendix — appendices.
Meanwhile, some words require a double letter when pluralizing with -es, such as quiz — quizzes. This happens fairly rarely.
null/no change
deer — deer
equipment — equipment
species — species
Note: some words fall into this category because they are "uncountable" — that is, one cannot numerically determine quantity. The most common example is water. You cannot have one water versus two waters in the same way you can have one apple versus two apples.
To complicate matters further, some words can be both countable and uncountable based on context. For example, the fireworks in a 4th of July display would be uncountable, but individual fireworks stacked in boxes could be counted.
foreign words
Most words that English has co-opted take English endings, such as piano — pianos and kangaroo — kangaroos. However, some still take original endings. Here are a few examples:
Italian words consistently pluralize with "i": for example, tortellini and other pasta names are already plural, so don't say "tortellinis"
Latin words often pluralize with "i" and base word changes: for example, radius — radii and fungus — fungi
Greek words often pluralize with "a": for example, criterion — criteria and millenium — millenia
Hebrew words often pluralism with "im": for example, cherub — cherubim and seraph — seraphim
vowel change
These words are holdovers from Old and Middle English, in which pluralization was much more pronounced. Many of these are common words that native English speakers pluralize properly without a second thought, but they can be hard for English language learners to remember.
man — men
foot — feet
tooth — teeth
mouse — mice
compound nouns
It can sometimes be difficult to tell where compound nouns take the -s. Here are a few examples:
brother-in-law — brothers-in-law
coup d'etat — coups d'etat
misc. exceptions
child — children (This is another holdover from Middle English, from the same rule that brings you ox — oxen.)
crisis — crises (This comes from foreign roots with English combining forms, much like diagnosis — diagnoses.)
die — dice
person — people
Whew! What a variety of plurals.
I know I missed something! Write in with the unusual or difficult to remember plurals that I omitted and I'll add them to the archived version of this newsletter.
Editor's Picks
Check out a variety of unusual plurals in these member items.
Feedback
In college classes: inactive  wrote,
 Good newsletter! I think I know all my possessives' It does help to clear up questions on that.  I'll be waiting for the next one!
Robert Waltz  wrote,
Don't say there'd be tax on those who misuse possessives too! We can benefit from all those grocery store mistakes!  )
For next week...
Our next issue comes out October 7. The topic is commonly confused pronouns.
Want to help out as a guest editor? You're welcome to choose from my collection of topics or pick one of your own. A shiny Newsletters merit badge will come your way! Apply here: "Unofficial Grammar Newsletter Feedback" [E]
Until we meet again, brethren,
 
As always, past issues of the newsletter are available for viewing in "Unofficial Grammar Newsletter Archives" [ASR].
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