A Handy Guide to
About Count Nouns
| Irregular Plural Formation
About Count Nouns
Most English nouns are count
nouns. They refer to objects which are thought of as separate
and distinct entities, and they have both singular and plural forms.
Generally speaking, their plurals are formed in a regular and predictable
way. Usually, plurals are formed by adding -s to the singular,
or unmarked form of the noun. Nouns that end in -s, -z,
-ch, -sh, and -x are made plural by adding an -es.
When a count noun is unspecified,
the articles a or an must be used:
Example: When Shirley Wang's
grandfather came to visit her from China, it was the first time he had
ever been on an airplane.
A sample of count nouns which take
-s to create the plural form:
| Airplane |
horse |
orange |
vase |
| book |
inch |
pencil |
window |
| car |
jar |
quarter |
x-ray |
| desk |
key |
rose |
year |
| eraser |
lamp |
street |
zipper |
| fork |
motorcycle |
train |
* |
| garden |
nest |
umbrella |
* |
A Little Vocabulary Stretch
Do you know the meaning of any of these noncount nouns?
| Antique |
harmonica |
orangutan |
vaccination |
| bellhop |
ink blot |
pager |
wimp |
| cartoon |
jelly bean |
quiche |
Xerox |
| dashboard |
kayak |
raffle |
yuppie |
| eggplant |
limousine |
smudge |
zip code |
| fingernail |
muffin |
trombone |
* |
| gimmick |
nutcracker |
undertaker |
* |
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Irregular Plural Formation
The plurals of some count nouns
are formed in irregular ways. Here are the rules for forming irregular
plurals: (Foreign nouns refer to nouns adopted from Latin
or Greek.)
Some
nouns that end in -o: take -es
Nouns that end
in a consonant + -y: change the -y to -i and add -es
Nouns that end
in -f or -fe: change the -f to -v and add -es
Nouns that change
the vowel but add no ending
Example: tooth=teeth, mouse=mice
Nouns that show
no difference between singular and plural
Example: deer=deer, fish=fish
Foreign nouns
that end in -us: change to -i
Example: alumnus=alumni, focus=foci
Foreign nouns
that end in -a: change to -ae
Example: formula=formulae, vertebra=vertebrae
Foreign nouns
that end in -um: change to -a
Example: curriculum=curricula, stratum=strata
Foreign nouns
that end in -ex or -ix: change to -ices
Example: index=indices, appendix=appendices
Foreign nouns
that end in -is: change to -es
Example: neurosis=neuroses, thesis=theses
Foreign nouns
that end in -on: change to -a
Example: phenomenon=phenomena, criterion=criteria
Some Italian
nouns referring to music that end in -o: change to -i
Example: concerto=concerti, virtuoso=virtuosi
Some French
nouns ending in -eau: add -x
Example: beau=beaux, tableau=tableaux
This
list is adapted from Susan
Jones' Complete List of Spelling Rules for Nouns and Verbs . Check
it for more information and a list of irregular nouns.
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Nouns
Brenda Sansom-Moorey
Georgia State University
Department of Applied Linguistics
TSLP 846
bsansom@emory.edu
1/28/97