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{{Grammar series}}
{{IPA notice}}
In the English [[language]], [[noun]]s are [[inflection|inflected]] for [[grammatical number]]—that is, [[Grammatical number|singular]] or [[plural]]. This article discusses the variety of ways in which '''English plurals''' are formed.
Note that phonetic transcriptions provided in this article are for [[Received Pronunciation|RP]] and [[General American]].
== Regular plurals ==
The plural [[morpheme]] in English is [[Affix|suffixed]] to the end of most nouns. The plural form is usually represented [[orthography|orthographically]] by adding ''-s'' to the singular form (see exceptions below). The phonetic form of the plural morpheme is {{IPA|[z]}} by default. When the preceding sound is a [[voice (phonetics)|voiceless]] [[consonant]], it is pronounced {{IPA|[s]}}. Examples:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|boy||boys||{{IPA|/bɔɪ'''z'''/}}
|-
|girl||girls||{{IPA|/gɜːl'''z'''/}},{{IPA|/gɝl'''z'''/}}
|-
|cat||cats||{{IPA|/kæt'''s'''/}}
|-
|chair||chairs||{{IPA|/ʧɛə'''z'''/}},{{IPA|/ʧɛɹ'''z'''/}}
|}
Where a noun ends in a [[sibilant]] sound—{{IPA|[s]}}, {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, {{IPA|[ʧ]}}, {{IPA|[z]}}, {{IPA|[ʒ]}}, or {{IPA|[ʤ]}}—the plural is formed by adding {{IPA|[ɪz]}} (also pronounced {{IPA|[əz]}}), which is spelled ''-es'' if the word does not already end with ''-e'':
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|dish||dishes||{{IPA|/ˈdɪʃ'''ɪz'''/}}
|-
|glass||glasses||{{IPA|/ˈglæs'''ɪz'''/}}
|-
|judge||judges||{{IPA|/ˈʤʌʤ'''ɪz'''/}}
|-
|phase||phases||{{IPA|/ˈfeɪz'''ɪz'''/}}
|-
|witch||witches||{{IPA|/ˈwɪʧ'''ɪz'''/}}
|}
Morphophonetically, these rules are sufficient to describe most English plurals. However, there are several complications introduced in spelling.
The '''-oes rule''': most nouns ending in ''o'' preceded by a [[consonant]] also form their plurals by adding ''-es'' (pronounced {{IPA|[z]}}):
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|hero||heroes
|-
|potato||potatoes
|-
|volcano||volcanoes
|}
The '''-ies rule''': nouns ending in a ''y'' preceded by a consonant drop the ''y'' and add ''-ies''. (pronounced {{IPA|[iz]}}) This is taught to many American students with the rhyme: '' "Change the 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'" '':
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|cherry||cherries
|-
|lady||ladies
|}
Note, however, that proper nouns (particularly those for people or places) ending in a ''y'' preceded by a consonant form their plurals regularly:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|Germany||Germanys (as in ''The two Germanys were unified in 1990''; this rule is not commonly adhered to as several book titles show<ref>Mary Fulbrook, ''The Two Germanies. 1945-1990'' (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1996)</ref><ref>Henry Ashby Turner, ''The two Germanies since 1945'' (New Haven: Yale UP, 1987)</ref>, and [[Two Sicilies|Sicilies]] rather than Sicilys is the standard plural of [[Sicily]])
|-
|Harry||Harrys (as in ''There are three Harrys in our office'')
|}
This does not apply to words that are merely capitalized common nouns:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|P&O Ferries (from ''ferry'')
|}
Some other exceptions include [[lay-by]]s and [[stand-by]]s.
Words ending in a ''y'' preceded by a vowel form their plurals regularly:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|day||days
|-
|monkey||monkeys
|}
("Monies" is an exception, but can also form its plural regularly.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/money Entry for "money" in dictionary.com]</ref>)
== Almost-regular plurals ==
Many nouns of foreign origin are exceptions to the '''-oes rule''':
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|canto||cantos
|-
|piano||pianos
|-
|portico||porticos
|-
|quarto ''(paper size)''||quartos
|-
|solo||solos
|-
|kimono||kimonos
|}
Many nouns ending in a voiceless [[fricative consonant|fricative]] [[consonant mutation#English|mutate]] that sound to a voiced fricative before adding the plural ending. In the case of {{IPA|[f]}} changing to {{IPA|[v]}} the mutation is indicated in the orthography as well:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|bath||baths||{{IPA|/bɑː'''ð'''z/}},{{IPA|/bæ'''ð'''z/}}
|-
|house||houses||{{IPA|/haʊ'''z'''ɪz/}}
|-
|mouth||mouths||{{IPA|/maʊ'''ð'''z/}}
|-
|calf||calves||{{IPA|/kɑː'''v'''z/}},{{IPA|/kæ'''v'''z/}}
|-
|wolf||wolves||{{IPA|/wʊl'''v'''z/}}
|}
In practice, many people do not change the fricative, and instead use regular plurals.
Some retain the voiceless consonant:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|moth||moths
|-
|place||places
|-
|proof||proofs
|}
Some can do either:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|dwarf{{fn|1}}||dwarfs/dwarves
|-
|hoof||hoofs/hooves
|-
|roof||roofs/rooves (latter archaic)
|-
|staff{{fn|2}}||staffs/staves
|-
|turf||turfs/turves (latter rare)
|}
{{fnb|1}} For ''dwarf'', the common form of the plural was ''dwarfs''—as, for example, in [[Walt Disney]]'s ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]''—until [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] popularized ''dwarves''; he intended the changed spelling to differentiate the "[[dwarf (Tolkien)|dwarf]]" [[fantasy race]] in his novels from the cuter and simpler beings common in fairy tales, but his usage has since spread. Multiple astronomical [[dwarf star]]s and multiple nonmythological short human beings, however, remain ''dwarfs''.
{{fnb|2}} For ''staff'' in the sense of "a body of employees", the plural is always ''staffs''; otherwise both ''staffs'' and ''staves'' are acceptable, except in compounds; such as ''flagstaffs''. The ''stave'' of a barrel or cask is a [[back-formation]] from ''staves'', which is its plural. (See the [[#Plural to singular by back-formation|Plural to singular by back-formation]] section below.)
== Irregular plurals ==
There are many other less regular ways of forming plurals, usually stemming from older forms of English or from foreign borrowings.
===Nouns with identical singular and plural===
Some nouns spell their singular and plural exactly alike; these are regarded by some linguists as regular plurals. Many of these are the names of animals:
:deer
:fish (and many individual fish names: cod, mackerel, trout, etc.)
:moose
:sheep
:swine
The plural ''deers'' is listed in some dictionaries,<ref>E.g. ''Collins English Dictionary'', 6th ed. (Glasgow: HarperCollins, 2003).</ref> but is considered by many to be an error.
''Fish'' does have a regular plural form, but it differs in meaning from the unmarked plural; ''fishes'' refers to several species or other taxonomic types, while ''fish'' (plural) is used to describe multiple individual animals: one would say "the [[scientific classification|order]] of fishes," but "five fish in an aquarium." The plural ''fishes'' is found in the ''[[King James Bible]]'', in the [[miracle]] of the loaves and fishes, for example, and is also sometimes used for rhetorical emphasis, as in phrases like ''sleep with the fishes''.
Other nouns that have identical singular and plural forms include:
:aircraft
:blues{{fn|3}}
:cannon (sometimes cannons)
:head{{fn|4}}
{{fnb|3}} Referring to individual songs in the [[blues]] musical style: "play me a blues"; "he sang three blues and a calypso"<br>
{{fnb|4}} Referring, in the plural, to animals in a herd: "fifty head of cattle"
=== Irregular -(e)n plurals ===
The plural of a few nouns can also be formed from the singular by adding ''-n'' or ''-en'', stemming from the obsolete Old English weak declension:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|ox||oxen||(also ''oxes'' in metaphorical sense)
|-
|cow||kine||(archaic/regional; actually earlier plural "kye" [cf. Scots "kye" - "cows"] plus -en suffix, forming a double plural)
|-
|eye||eyen||(rare, found in some regional dialects)
|-
|shoe||shoon||(rare/dialectal)
|-
|brother||brethren||(archaic plural of ''brother''; earlier "brether" plus -en suffix, forming a double plural; now used in fraternal order)
|-
|child||children||(actually earlier plural "cildra/cildru" plus -en suffix, forming a double plural)
|}
The word ''box'', referring to a computer, is semi-humorously pluralized ''boxen'' in the [[Leet]] dialect. Multiple Vax computers, likewise, are sometimes called ''Vaxen'', but multiple Unix systems are usually ''Unices'' (see [[#Irregular plurals of foreign origin|Irregular plurals of foreign origin]] below).
The word ''sistren'', referring to Christian sisters [cf. "brethren"], is also semi-humorously pluralized.
===Ablaut plurals===
The plural is sometimes formed by simply changing the vowel sound of the singular, in a process called [[ablaut]] (these are sometimes called ''mutated plurals''):
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|foot||feet
|-
|goose||geese
|-
|louse||lice
|-
|man||men
|-
|mouse||mice
|-
|tooth||teeth
|-
|woman||women
|}
''Mouse'' is sometimes pluralized ''mouses'' in discussions of the [[computer mouse]]; however, ''mice'' is just as common because of the physical similarity between the input device and the rodent, which is the origin of the term.
=== Irregular plurals from Latin and Greek ===
Because English includes words from so many ancestral languages, as well as many [[loanword]]s from [[Latin]], [[Greek language|Classical Greek]] and modern languages, there are many other forms of plurals. Such nouns (particularly ones from Latin) often retain their original plurals, at least for some time after they are introduced. In some cases both forms are still vying for attention: for example, for a librarian, the plural of ''appendix'' is ''appendices'' (following the original language); for physicians, however, the plural of ''appendix'' is ''appendixes''. Likewise, a radio engineer works with ''antennas'' and an entomologist deals with ''antennae''. The "correct" form is the one that sounds better in context, or that people in the field use.
Correctly formed Latin plurals are the most acceptable, and indeed are often required, in academic and scientific contexts. In common usage, plurals with ''-s'' are sometimes preferred.
* Final ''a'' becomes ''-ae'' (also ''-æ''), or just adds ''-s'':
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|alumna||alumnae
|-
|formula||formulae/formulas
|}
* Final ''ex'' or ''ix'' becomes ''-ices'' (pronounced {{IPA|[ɪˌsiːz]}} or {{IPA|[əˌsiz]}}), or just adds ''-es'':
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|index||indices||{{IPA|/ˈɪndɪˌsiːz/}}||-or- indexes
|-
|matrix||matrices||{{IPA|/ˈmeɪtɹɪˌsiːz/}}
|-
|vertex||vertices||{{IPA|/ˈvɜːtɪˌsiːz/}},{{IPA|/ˈvɝtɪˌsiːz/}}
|}
Some people treat ''process'' as if it belonged to this class, pronouncing ''processes'' {{IPA|/ˈpɹɑsɪˌsiːz/}} instead of standard {{IPA|/ˈpɹɑsɛsɪz/}}. Since the word comes from Latin ''processus'', whose plural is again ''processus'', but now with a long ''u'' ([[Latin declension#Fourth declension (u)|fourth declension]]), this has no basis in the origin of the word.
* Final ''is'' becomes ''es'' (pronounced {{IPA|[ˌiːz]}}:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|axis||axes||{{IPA|/ˈækˌsiːz/}}
|-
|crisis||crises||{{IPA|/ˈkɹaɪˌsiːz/}}
|-
|testis||testes||{{IPA|/ˈtɛsˌtiːz/}}
|}
Note that ''axes'', the plural of ''axis'', is pronounced differently from ''axes'' {{IPA|(/ˈæksɪz/)}}, the plural of axe.
* Final ''ies'' remains unchanged:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|series||series
|-
|species||species
|}
* Final ''on'' becomes ''-a'':
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|automaton||automata
|-
|criterion||criteria
|-
|phenomenon||phenomena (more [[#phenomenon|below]])
|-
|polyhedron||polyhedra
|}
* Final ''um'' becomes ''-a'', or just adds ''-s'':
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|addendum||addenda
|-
|datum||data (now often treated as a singular mass noun in informal usage, but in publishing usually still plural)
|-
|forum||fora/forums
|-
|medium||media (in communications and computers; now often treated as a singular mass noun)/<br />mediums (spiritualists)
|-
|memorandum||memoranda/memorandums
|}
* Final ''us'' becomes ''-i'' ([[second declension]]) or ''-era'' or ''-ora'' ([[third declension]]), or just adds ''-es'' (especially in [[fourth declension]], where it would otherwise be the same as the singular):
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|alumnus||alumni
|-
|corpus||corpora
|-
|genus||genera
|-
|prospectus||prospectuses
|-
|radius||radii
|-
|viscus||viscera
|}
Note: Many nouns of Latin origin with a final ''-us'' that take an ''-i'' in plural form can also, in modern usage, take an ''-es'' instead. Much formal or technical writing insists on the ''-i'' plural, whereas either ending is acceptable in common usage. See article on the [[plural of virus]].
:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|cactus||cacti/cactuses (in [[Arizona]] many people avoid either choice with ''cactus'' as both singular and plural. Note that ''cacti'' is often misspelled 'cactii').
|-
|hippopotamus||hippopotami/hippopotamuses
|-
|octopus||octopuses (''note'': octopi also occurs, although strictly speaking unfounded, since the word is of Greek, not Latin origin. The theoretically correct form octopodes is rarely used)
|-
|platypus||platypi/platypuses
|-
|uterus||uteri/uteruses
|}
Colloquial usages based in a humorous fashion on the second declension include ''Elvii'' to refer to multiple [[Elvis impersonators]] and ''Loti'', used by [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/petrolhead petrolheads] to refer to [[Lotus Cars|Lotus]] automobiles in the plural.
* Final ''as'' in one case of a noun of Greek origin changes to ''-antes'':
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|Atlas||Atlantes (statues of the hero); but
|-
|atlas||atlases (map collections)
|}
* Final ''ma'' in nouns of Greek origin can add ''-ta'', although ''-s'' is usually also acceptable, and in many cases more common.
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|stigma||stigmata/stigmas
|-
|stoma||stomata/stomas
|-
|schema||schemata/schemas
|-
|dogma||dogmata/dogmas
|-
|lemma||lemmata/lemmas
|}
=== Irregular plurals from other languages ===
* Some nouns of [[French language|French]] origin add ''-x'':
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|beau||beaux
|-
|bureau||bureaus or bureaux
|-
|château||châteaux
|}
Foreign terms may take native plural forms, especially when the user is addressing an audience familiar with the language. In such cases, the conventionally formed English plural may sound awkward or be confusing.
* Nouns of [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] origin add ''-a'' or ''-i'' according to native rules, or just ''-s'':
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
| kniazhestvo||kniazhestva/kniazhestvos
|-
| kobzar||kobzari/kobzars
|-
| oblast||oblasti/oblasts
|}
* Nouns of [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] origin add ''-im'' or ''-ot'' (generally m/f) according to native rules, or just ''-s'':
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|cherub||cherubim/cherubs
|-
|matzoh||matzot/matzos
|-
|seraph||seraphim/seraphs
|}
Note that ''ot'' is pronounced ''os'' in the [[Ashkenazi]] dialect.
* Many nouns of [[Japanese language|Japanese]] origin have no plural form and do not change:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|benshi||benshi
|-
|otaku||otaku
|-
|samurai||samurai
|-
|ninja||ninja
|}
However, other nouns such as ''kimonos'', ''futons'', and ''tsunamis'' are more often seen with a regular English plural.
* In [[New Zealand English]], nouns of [[Māori language|Māori]] origin can either take an ''-s'' or have no separate plural form. Words more connected to Māori culture and used in that context tend to retain the same form, while names of flora and fauna may or may not take an ''-s'', depending on context. Omission is regarded by many as more correct:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|kiwi{{fn|5}}||kiwi/kiwis
|-
|kowhai||kowhai/kowhais
|-
|Māori{{fn|6}}||Māori/(''occasionally'' Māoris)
|-
|marae||marae
|-
|tui||tuis/tui
|-
|waka (canoe)|waka||waka
|}
{{fnb|5}}When referring to the bird, ''kiwi'' may or may not take an ''-s''; when used as an informal term for a New Zealander, it always takes an ''-s''.<br>
{{fnb|6}}''Māori'', when referring to a person of that ethnicity, does not usually take an ''-s''. Many speakers avoid the use of ''Māori'' as a noun, and instead use it only as an adjective.
* In [[Canada]] and [[Alaska]], some words borrowed from [[Inuktitut]] retain traditional plurals (see also [[English plural#Plurals of names of peoples|Plurals of names of peoples]], below):
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|Inuk||Inuit
|-
|inukshuk||inukshuit
|}
* Nouns from languages that have donated few words to English, and that are spoken by relatively few English speakers, generally form plurals as if they were native English words:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|canoe||canoes
|-
|cwm||cwms ([[Welsh language|Welsh]] valley)
|-
|igloo||igloos
|-
|kangaroo||kangaroos
|-
|kayak||kayaks
|-
|kindergarten||kindergartens
|-
|pizza||pizzas
|-
|sauna||saunas
|}
=== Words better known in the plural ===
Some words of foreign origin are much better known in the plural; usage of the original singular may be considered pedantic or actually incorrect by some speakers. In common usage, the original plural is considered the singular form. In many cases, [[back-formation]] has produced a regularized plural.
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
!Original singular||Original plural/<br>common singular||Common plural
|-
|thou||you||you
|-
|agendum||agenda||agendas
|-
|alga||algae||algae
|-
|candelabrum||candelabra||candelabras
|-
|datum{{fn|7}}||data||data (mass noun)
|-
|graffito||graffiti||graffiti (mass noun)
|-
|insigne||insignia||insignias
|-
|opus||opera||operas
|-
|panino||panini||paninis (currently gaining use)
|-
|paparazzo||paparazzi||paparazzi
|}
{{fnb|7}} A single piece of data is sometimes referred to as a ''data point''.
Some plural nouns are used as such—invariably being accompanied by a plural verb form—while their singular forms are rarely encountered:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
|nuptial||nuptials
|-
|phalanx{{fn|8}}||phalanges
|-
|tiding||tidings
|-
|victual||victuals
|-
|viscus||viscera
|}
{{fnb|8}} In medical terminology, a ''phalanx'' is any bone of the finger or toe. A military ''phalanx'' is pluralized ''phalanxes''.
A related <font id="phenomenon">phenomenon</font> is the confusion of a foreign plural for its singular form:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
|criterion||criteria
|-
|phenomenon||phenomena
|-
|symposium||symposia
|}
''Magazine'' is a plural noun, from Arabic via French, but is always regarded as singular in English; the plural is ''magazines''.
== Plurals of numbers ==
English, like some other languages, treats large numerals as nouns (cf. "there were ten soldiers" and "there were ''a'' hundred soldiers"). Thus ''dozens'' is preferred to ''tens'', while ''hundreds'' and ''thousands'' are also completely acceptable.
Plurals of numbers differ according to how they are used. The following rules apply to ''dozen'', ''score'', ''hundred'', ''thousand'', ''million'', and similar terms:
*When modified by a number, the plural is not inflected, that is, has no ''-s'' added. Hence ''one hundred'', ''two hundred'', etc. For vaguer large numbers, one may say ''several hundred'' or ''many hundreds''.
*When used alone, or followed by a [[prepositional phrase]], the plural is inflected: ''dozens of complaints'', ''scores of people''. However, either ''complaints by the dozen'' or ''complaints by the dozens'' is acceptable (although differing in meaning).
*The preposition ''of'' is used when speaking of nonspecific items identified by pronouns: ''two hundred of these, three dozen of those''. The ''of'' is not used for a number of specific items: ''three hundred oriental rugs''. However, if the pronoun is included with the specific item, the ''of'' is used: ''five million of those dollar bills''.
== Nouns used attributively ==
Nouns used attributively to qualify other nouns are generally in the singular, even though for example a ''dog catcher'' catches more than one dog, and a ''department store'' has more than one department. This is true even for some [[binary noun]]s where the singular form is not found in isolation, such as ''trouser press'' or ''scissor kick''. It is also true where the attribute noun is itself qualified with a number, such as a ''twenty-dollar bill'', a ''ten-foot pole'' or a ''two-man tent''. The plural is used for [[pluralia tantum]] nouns; a ''glasses case'' is for eyeglasses, while a ''glass case'' is made of glass. The plural may also be used to emphasise the plurality of the attribute, especially in [[British English]]: a ''careers advisor'', a ''languages expert''. The plural is also more common with irregular plurals for certain attributions: ''women killers'' are women, whereas ''woman killers'' kill women.
== Defective nouns ==
Some nouns have no singular form. Such a noun is called a [[plurale tantum]] (see also [[#Words better known in the plural|Words better known in the plural]] above):
:billiards, clothes, measles, thanks, vittles
Some of these do have singular adjective forms, such as ''billiard ball''. In addition, some are treated as singular in construction, e.g., "billiards is a game played on a table with billiard balls and a cue", "measles is an infectious disease". ''Thanks'' is usually treated as plural.
A particular set of nouns, describing things having two parts, comprises the major group of pluralia tantum in modern English:
:pants, pliers, scissors, shorts, trousers
Note that these words are interchangeable with ''a pair of scissors'', ''a pair of trousers'', and so forth. In the U.S. fashion industry it is common to refer to a single pair of pants as a ''pant'' —though this is a [[back-formation]], the English word (deriving from the French ''pantalon'') was originally singular. In the same field, one half of a pair of scissors separated from the other half is, rather illogically, referred to as a ''half-scissor''. ''Tweezers'' used to be part of this group, but ''tweezer'' has come into common usage since the second half of the twentieth century.
[[Mass noun]]s (or uncountable nouns) do not represent distinct objects, so the singular and plural semantics do not apply in the same way. Some examples:
* Abstract nouns
: goodness, idleness, honesty, deceit, freshness, bitterness, information, obscurity, wisdom, cunning
* Arts and sciences
: chemistry, geometry, surgery, mechanics, optics, blues,{{fn|10}} jazz, rock and roll, impressionism, surrealism
* Chemical elements and other physical entities:
: antimony, gold, oxygen, equipment, furniture, gear, species, air, water, sand
{{fnb|10}} Referring to the musical style as a whole.
Some mass nouns can be pluralized, but the meaning thereof may change slightly. For example, when I have two pieces of sand, I do not have two sands; I have sand. There is more sand in your pile, not more sands. But there could be many "sands of Africa"—either many distinct stretches of sand, or distinct types of sand of interest to geologists or builders, or simply the allusive ''sands of Africa''.
It is rare to pluralize ''furniture'' in this way. Nor would ''information'' be so treated, except in the case of ''criminal informations'', which are prosecutor's briefs similar to [[indictment]]s.
There is only one class of atoms called oxygen, but there are several isotopes of oxygen, which might be referred to as different oxygens. In casual speech, ''oxygen'' might be used as shorthand for "oxygen atoms", but in this case it is not a mass noun, so it is entirely sensible to refer to multiple oxygens in the same molecule.
One would interpret Bob's ''wisdoms'' as various pieces of Bob's wisdom (that is, don't run with scissors, defer to those with greater knowledge), ''deceits'' as a series of instances of deceitful behavior (lied on income tax, dated my wife), and the different ''idlenesses'' of the worker as plural distinct manifestations of the mass concept of idleness (or as different types of idleness, "bone lazy" ''versus'' "no work to do").
''Specie'' and ''species'' make a fascinating case. Both words come from a Latin word meaning "kind", but they do not form a singular-plural pair; they are separate nouns. Coins, such as nickels, euros (see [[Linguistic issues concerning the euro]]), and cents are ''specie'', but there is no plural. The idea is "payment in kind". And ''species'', the "kinds of living things", is the same in singular and plural.
==Plurals of compound nouns==
The majority of English [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] nouns have one basic term, or [[head (linguistics)|head]], with which they end, and are pluralized in typical fashion:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|able seaman||able seamen
|-
|headbanger||headbangers
|-
|yellow-dog contract||yellow-dog contracts
|}
A compound that has one head, with which it begins, usually pluralizes its head:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|attorney general||attorneys general
|-
|bill of attainder||bills of attainder
|-
|court martial||courts martial
|-
|governor-general||governors-general
|-
|passerby||passersby
|-
|ship of the line||ships of the line
|-
|son-in-law||sons-in-law
|-
|minister-president||ministers-president
|-
|knight-errant||knights-errant
|-
|procurator fiscal ''(in Scotland)''||procurators fiscal
|}
It is common in informal speech to instead pluralize the last word in the manner typical of most English nouns, but in edited prose, the forms given above are preferred.
If a compound can be thought to have two heads, both of them tend to be pluralized when the first head has an irregular plural form:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|man-child||men-children
|-
|manservant||menservants
|-
|woman doctor||women doctors
|}
Two-headed compounds in which the first head has a standard plural form, however, tend to pluralize only the final head:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|city-state||city-states
|-
|nurse-practitioner||nurse-practitioners
|-
|scholar-poet||scholar-poets
|}
In military usage, the term ''general'', as part of an officer's title, is etymologically an adjective, but it has been adopted as a noun and thus a head, so compound titles employing it are pluralized at the end:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|brigadier general||brigadier generals
|-
|major general||major generals
|}
For compounds of three or more words that have a head (or a term functioning as a head) with an irregular plural form, only that term is pluralized:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
|man-about-town||men-about-town
|-
|man-of-war||men-of-war
|-
|woman of the street||women of the street
|}
For many other compounds of three or more words with a head at the front—especially in cases where the compound is ad hoc and/or the head is metaphorical—it is generally regarded as acceptable to pluralize either the first major term or the last (if open when singular, such compounds tend to take hyphens when plural in the latter case):
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
|ham on rye||hams on rye/ham-on-ryes
|-
|jack-in-the-box||jacks-in-the-box/jack-in-the-boxes
|-
|jack-in-the-pulpit||jacks-in-the-pulpit/jack-in-the-pulpits
|}
With a few extended compounds, both terms may be pluralized—again, with an alternative (which may be more prevalent, e.g., ''heads of state''):
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
|head of state||heads of states/heads of state
|-
|son of a bitch||sons of bitches/son-of-a-bitches
|}
With extended compounds constructed around ''o''', only the last term is pluralized (or left unchanged if it is already plural):
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
|cat-o'-nine-tails||cat-o'-nine-tails
|-
|jack-o'-lantern||jack-o'-lanterns
|-
|will-o'-the-wisp||will-o'-the-wisps
|}
===Compounds from the French===
Many English compounds have been [[loanword|borrowed]] directly from the French, and these generally follow a somewhat different set of rules. French-loaned compounds with a head at the beginning tend to pluralize both words, according to French practice:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
|agent provocateur||agents provocateurs
|-
|entente cordiale||ententes cordiales
|-
|fait accompli||faits accomplis
|-
|idée fixe||idées fixes
|}
For compounds adopted directly from the French where the head comes at the end, it is generally regarded as acceptable either to pluralize both words or only the last:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
|beau geste||beaux gestes/beau gestes
|-
|belle époque||belles époques/belle époques
|-
|bon mot||bons mots/bon mots
|-
|bon vivant||bons vivants/bon vivants
|}
French-loaned compounds longer than two words tend to follow the rules of the original language, which usually involves pluralizing only the head at the beginning:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
|aide-de-camp||aides-de-camp
|-
|cri de coeur||cris de coeur
|-
|coup d'état||coups d'état
|-
|tour de force||tours de force
|}
''but'':
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
|tête-à-tête||tête-à-têtes
|}
A distinctive case is the compound ''film noir.'' For this French-loaned artistic term, English-language texts variously use as the plural ''films noirs,'' ''films noir,'' and, most prevalently, ''film noirs.'' The 11th edition of the standard ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary'' (2006) lists ''film noirs'' as the preferred style. Three primary bases may be identified for this:
#Unlike other compounds borrowed directly from the French, ''film noir'' is used to refer primarily to English-language cultural artifacts; a typically English-style plural is thus unusually appropriate.
#Again, unlike other foreign-loaned compounds, ''film noir'' refers specifically to the products of popular culture; consequently, popular usage holds more orthographical authority than is usual.
#English has adopted ''noir'' as a stand-alone noun in artistic contexts, leading it to serve as the lone head in a variety of compounds (e.g., ''psycho-noir,'' ''sci-fi noir'').
See also the [[#Plurals (and singulars) of headless nouns|headless nouns]] section below.
==Plurals (and singulars) of headless nouns==
In ''[[The Language Instinct]]'', [[linguistics|linguist]] [[Steven Pinker]] discusses what he calls "headless words," typically [[bahuvrihi]] compounds, like ''lowlife'' and ''[[Boston Red Sox|Red Sox]]'', in which ''life'' and ''sox'' are not [[head (linguistics)|heads]] semantically; that is, a lowlife is not a type of life, nor are Red Sox a group of similarly colored socks. When the common form of such a word is singular, it is treated as if it has a regular plural, even if the final constituent of the word is usually pluralized in a nonregular fashion. Thus, more than one lowlife are ''lowlifes'', not "lowlives." A related process can be observed with the compound ''maple leaf'', pluralized in its common-noun form as ''maple leaves''; when it is adopted as the name of an ice-hockey team, its plural becomes ''[[Toronto Maple Leafs|Maple Leafs]]''. Other examples include:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
|flatfoot||flatfoots
|-
|sabertooth||sabertooths
|-
|still life||still lifes
|-
|tenderfoot||tenderfoots
|}
An exception is ''[[Blackfoot]]'', of which the plural can be ''Blackfeet'', though that form of the name is officially rejected by the Blackfoot [[First Nations]] of Canada.
Where words have taken on completely new meanings, irregular plurals may become regularized. ''[[Antennas]]'' is the accepted plural of ''antenna'' when it refers to electronic equipment, in contrast to ''[[antenna (biology)|antennae]]'' for arthropod feelers. The [[mouse (computing)|computer ''mouse'']] is sometimes considered headless and pluralized as ''mouses'', but also often as ''mice''; in contrast to the compound headless words just discussed, there is a considerably stronger [[metaphor]]ical relationship in this case, with many computer pointing devices resembling rodents with tails.
In other cases, the common form of a headless word is a nonregular plural; when such a word lacks a terminal ''s'', it is treated as defective, thus making the singular version of the word identical: an individual member of the Boston baseball team is a ''Red Sox'', just as all twenty-five are; one [[Chicago White Sox]] is a ''White Sox''.
===Related collective nouns===
Sports team names like those discussed above—as well as more grammatically ordinary names such as ''[[Cincinnati Reds|Reds]]'', ''[[New York Knicks|Knicks]]'', and ''[[Montreal Canadiens|Canadiens]]'', and straightforward compound names such as ''[[Toronto Blue Jays|Blue Jays]]'' and ''[[Tampa Bay Devil Rays|Devil Rays]]''—comprise a particular set of [[collective nouns]]. Closely related to the class of essentially plural headless nouns typified by ''Red Sox'' are the growing number of orthographically singular sports team names that may be classified as examples of a special type of collective noun—one that (a) has identical terms for both the collective and an individual thereof (as with the essentially plural headless noun) but (b) is not used as a counting noun beyond the singular. Two examples include the name of the Miami NBA team—''[[Miami Heat|Heat]]''—and the name of the Colorado NHL team—''[[Colorado Avalanche|Avalanche]]''. While ''heat'' is a mass noun, whereas ''avalanche'' is a normal counting noun, in the context of a team name, both words operate as this special type of collective noun. Just as with the Sox, any one of the twelve current members of Miami's pro basketball squad is a ''Heat''; similarly, any individual member of the Colorado Avalanche is an ''Avalanche''. However, where one may say, for instance, that "two Red Sox struck out" or "four White Sox homered," the equivalent term is invariably used as an adjective when referring to multiple players of one of the teams named in this increasingly popular way: "two Heat players fought" or "four Avalanche players scored" (Avalanche followers have a little more flexibility, with "Avs" as the team's unofficial, but widely used nickname). Other examples include:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|-
|'''NHL'''||'''WNBA'''
|-
|[[Tampa Bay Lightning]]||[[Indiana Fever]]
|-
|[[Minnesota Wild]]||[[New York Liberty]]
|-
|'''NBA'''||[[Minnesota Lynx]]
|-
|[[Utah Jazz]]||[[Phoenix Mercury]]
|-
|[[Orlando Magic]]||[[Detroit Shock]]
|-
|'''MLS'''||[[Chicago Sky]]
|-
|[[Columbus Crew]]||[[Charlotte Sting]]
|-
|[[Houston Dynamo]]||[[Seattle Storm]]
|-
|[[Chicago Fire]]||[[Connecticut Sun]]
|-
|[[Los Angeles Galaxy]]||'''AFL'''
|-
|[[New England Revolution]]||[[Port Adelaide Power]]
|-
|[[D.C. United]]
|}
Note that in not every case above is it certain that the name is ever used in its noun form to refer to anything but the collective—i.e., not even to an individual player; in other cases, it is possible that the name is sometimes used in its noun form (with or without a terminal ''s'' appended) to refer to multiple players, short of the whole collective.
An exceptional case is that of the [[St. Louis Blues (hockey)|St. Louis Blues]] hockey team. The club is named after the song "[[St. Louis Blues (music)|St. Louis Blues]]," which makes the team name ''Blues'' an irregularly pluralized word to begin with—one whose plural is identical to its singular. By this reckoning, then, an individual team member would also be a "Blues." However, because the name is spelled like a regular plural, its use as a collective noun leads to a process of [[back-formation]], with the result that a single player on the team is known as a ''Blue''. The club name's distinctive orthographical nature further allows it to be used freely as a counting noun, so that one may speak of, for instance, "two Blues in the penalty box."
Pinker discusses a case that could be construed as opposite, that of the [[Florida Marlins]] baseball team. Describing how the issue was raised by talk show host [[David Letterman]], Pinker asks, Why is the name ''Marlins'' "given that those fish are referred to in the plural as ''marlin''?" An analogous question could be asked about the Maple Leafs. Pinker's answer comes down to this: "A name is not the same thing as a noun."<ref>Pinker, Stephen, ''The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language'' (New York: Perennial, 2000 [1994]), 139.</ref> Consequently, names (and nouns that derive from names) based on nouns with irregular plurals do not acquire them—though, as we see with ''Red Sox'', new irregularities may arise.
== Nouns with multiple plurals ==
Some nouns have two plurals, one used to refer to a number of things considered individually, the other to refer to a number of things collectively. In some cases, one of the two is nowadays archaic or dialectal.
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|brother||brothers||brethren
|-
|cannon||cannons||cannon
|-
|child||children||childer{{fn|11}}
|-
|cloth||cloths||clothes{{fn|12}}
|-
|cow||cows||kine{{fn|13}}
|-
|die||dice||dies{{fn|14}}
|-
|fish||fish||fishes{{fn|15}}
|-
|iris ''(plant)''||iris||irises{{fn|16}}
|-
|penny||pennies||pence{{fn|17}} {{fn|18}}
|-
|person||persons||people{{fn|19}}
|-
|pig||pigs||swine
|-
|sow||sows||swine
|}
{{fnb|11}} ''Childer'' has all but disappeared, but can still be seen in ''Childermas'' (Innocents' Day).
{{fnb|12}} ''Clothes'' refers collectively to all of a household's washable cloth articles.
{{fnb|13}} ''Kine'' is still used in rural English dialects.
{{fnb|14}} ''Dies'' is used as the plural for ''die'' in the sense of a mould; ''[[dice]]'' as the plural (and increasingly as the singular) in the sense of a small random number generator. ''Dice'' is also the accepted plural form of ''die'' in the semiconductor industry.
{{fnb|15}} ''Fish'': the plural for one species of fish, or caught fish, is ''fish'', but for live fish of many species, or in poetic usage, ''fishes'' is used.
{{fnb|16}} For multiple plants, ''iris'' is used, but ''irises'' is used for multiple blossoms.
{{fnb|17}} If you have several (British) one-penny pieces you have several ''pennies''. ''Pence'' is used for an amount of money, which can be made up of a number of coins of different denominations: one penny and one five-penny piece are together worth six pence. <!-- The following addendum could perhaps be best dealt in a different section, or at least as a *third* footnote from the penny/pennies/pence line if that's not too messy. (I already split the US usage bit to its own footnote for length-management reasons.) --> The suffixed minor currency unit of 'p' (''/pi/'') is often vocalised, where such small divisions of currency are discussed in common speech, and used for both the singular and the 'amount plural', but 'number plurals' build upon the base values and any omission of the unit shifts the plural to the coin's numerator (e.g. "I have a ''one /pi/'' and three ''twenty /piz/'' and two ''fifties'' in my pocket. I can't believe I only have ''one [[Pound Sterling|pound]], sixty-one /pi/'' left after last night."). In written speech, a number of coins might be "''two 10ps''", although those that prefer to use apostrophes for [[English plurals#Plurals of symbols and initialisms|initialisms]] may decide to use the "''two 10p's''" variant.
{{fnb|18}} ''Penny'' and ''pennies'' also refer to one or more U.S. one-cent pieces, though in American usage, a nickel is worth five cents, not five pence.
{{fnb|19}} The word ''people'' is usually treated as the [[suppletion|suppletive]] plural of ''person'' (one person, many people). However, in legal and other formal contexts, the plural of ''person'' is ''persons''; furthermore, ''people'' can also be a singular noun with its own plural (for example, "We are many persons, from many peoples").
==Plurals of symbols and initialisms==
Individual letters and abbreviations whose plural would be ambiguous if only an ''-s'' were added are pluralized by adding ''-'s''.
:mind your p's and q's
:A.A.'s and B.A.'s
:the note had three PS's
Opinion is divided on whether to extend this use of the [[apostrophe (mark)|apostrophe]] to related but nonambiguous cases, such as the plurals of numerals (e.g., ''1990's'' vs. ''1990s'') and words used as terms (e.g., "his writing uses a lot of ''but's''" vs. "his writing uses a lot of ''buts''"). Some writers favor the use of the apostrophe as consistent with its application in ambiguous cases; others say it confuses the plural with the [[possessive case|possessive]] ''-'s'' and should be avoided whenever possible in pluralization, a view with which ''The Chicago Manual of Style'' concurs.
[[Acronyms]] are [[initialisms]] used as if they are words. Clearly, it is not desirable to pluralize the acronym ''laser'' as ''laser's''. Thus the most consistent approach for pluralizing acronyms is to simply add a lowercase ''-s'' as a suffix. This works well even for acronyms ending with an ''s'', as with ''CASs'' (pronounced "kazzes"), while still making it possible to use the possessive form (''-'s'') for acronyms without confusion. The traditional style of pluralizing single letters with ''-'s'' was naturally extended to acronyms when they were commonly written with periods. This form is still preferred by some people for all initialisms and thus ''-'s'' as a suffix is often seen in informal usage.
== Plural to singular by back-formation ==
Some words have unusually formed singulars and plurals, but develop "normal" singular-plural pairs by [[back-formation]]. For example, ''pease'' (modern ''peas'') was in origin a singular with plural ''peasen''. However, ''pease'' came to be analysed as plural by analogy, from which a new singular ''pea'' was formed; the spelling of ''pease'' was also altered accordingly. Similarly, ''termites'' and ''primates'' were the three-syllable plurals of ''termes'' and ''primas''; these singulars were lost, however, and the plural forms reduced to two syllables. ''Syringe'' is a back-formation from ''syringes'', itself the plural of ''[[syrinx]]'', a musical instrument. ''Cherry'' is from [[Norman language|Norman French]] ''cherise''. Finally, ''phases'' was once the plural of ''phasis'', but the singular is now ''phase''.
''Kudos'' is a singular Greek word meaning praise, but is often taken to be a plural. At present, however, ''kudo'' is considered an error. The name of the Greek sandwich style [[gyros]] is, increasingly, undergoing a similar transformation.
The singular form of Spanish ''[[tamale]]s'' ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]: {{IPA|[ta ˈmal es]}}) is ''tamal'' ({{IPA|[ta ˈmal]}}). The anglicized version of ''tamales'' is pronounced [{{IPA|tə ˈmɑl iz}}] and the back-formed singular is ''tamale'' [({{IPA|tə ˈmɑl i}})].
The term, from Latin, for the main upper arm flexor in the singular is the "biceps muscle" (from "[[biceps brachii]]"); however, many English speakers take it to be a plural and refer to the muscle of only one arm, by back-formation, as "a bicep". The correct—although very seldom used—Latin plural would be ''bicipites''.
== Plurals of names of peoples ==
There are several different rules for this.
In discussing peoples whose [[demonym]] takes ''-man'' or ''-woman'', there are three options: pluralize to ''-men'' or ''-women'' if referring to individuals, and use the root alone if referring to the whole nation, or add ''people''.
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|Dutchman<br>Dutchwoman||Dutchmen<br>Dutchwomen||the Dutch
|-
|Englishman<br>Englishwoman||Englishmen<br>Englishwomen||the English
|-
|Frenchman<br>Frenchwoman||Frenchmen<br>Frenchwomen||the French
|-
|Irishman<br>Irishwoman||Irishmen<br>Irishwomen||the Irish
|-
|Scotsman<br>Scotswoman||Scotsmen<br>Scotswomen||the Scots
|-
|Welshman<br>Welshwoman||Welshmen<br>Welshwomen||the Welsh
|}
One can say "a Scots(wo)man" or "a Scot", "Scots(wo)men", "Scottish people", or "Scots," and "the Scottish" or "the Scots". ([[Scotch]] is considered old fashioned.)
Several peoples have names that are simple nouns and can be pluralized by the addition of either ''-s'' or ''-ish'' (the later case often calls for the elimination of terminal letters so the pluralizing suffix can be connected directly with the last consonant of the root):
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|Dane||Danes||the Danes<br>the Danish
|-
|Finn||Finns||the Finns<br>the Finnish
|-
|Spaniard||Spaniards||the Spaniards<br>the Spanish (much more common)
|-
|Swede||Swedes||the Swedes<br>the Swedish
|}
Names of peoples that end in ''-ese'' take no plural:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|Chinese||Chinese<br>Chinese people||the Chinese
|-
|Japanese||Japanese<br>Japanese people||the Japanese
|}
Other names of peoples that have no plural form include ''Swiss'' and ''Québécois''.
Most names for Native Americans are not pluralized:
:Blood
:Hopi
:Iroquois
:Mi'kmaq
:Ojibwa
:Sioux
Some exceptions include Algonquins, Aztecs, Chippewas, Crees, Hurons, Mohawks, and Oneidas. Note also the following words borrowed from [[Inuktitut]]:
{| style="margin-left:2em; text-align:left; border-collapse:separate; border-spacing: 10px 0px;"
|Inuk||Inuit
|-
| Iqalummiuq || Iqalummiut ("inhabitant of [[Iqaluit]]")
|-
| Nunavimmiuq || Nunavimmiut ("inhabitant of [[Nunavik]]")
|-
| Nunavummiuq || Nunavummiut ("inhabitant of [[Nunavut]]")
|}
Names of most other peoples of the world are pluralized using the normal English rules.
==
{{main|English collective nouns}}
A number of words like ''army'', ''company'', ''crowd'', ''fleet'', ''government'', ''majority'', ''mess'', ''number'', ''pack'', and ''party'' may refer either to a single entity or the members of the set that compose it. Thus, as [[H. W. Fowler]] describes, in [[British English]] they are "treated as singular or plural at discretion"; Fowler notes that occasionally a "delicate distinction" is made possible by discretionary plurals: "''The Cabinet'' is ''divided'' is better, because in the order of thought a whole must precede division; and ''The Cabinet'' are ''agreed'' is better, because it takes two or more to agree."<ref>Fowler, H. W., ''[[Fowler's Modern English Usage|A Dictionary of Modern English Usage]]'', 2nd ed., revised by [[Ernest Gowers|Sir Ernest Gowers]] (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965), 403.</ref> Also in British English, names of towns and countries take plural verbs when they refer to sports teams but singular verbs when they refer to the actual place: ''[[England national football team|England]] are playing [[Germany national football team|Germany]] tonight'' refers to a [[football (soccer)|football]] game, but ''England is the most populous country of the United Kingdom'' refers to the country. In [[North American English]], such words are invariably treated as singular.
==Snob plurals==
Another type of irregular plural occurs in the register of the English upper classes in the context of field sports, where the singular form is used in place of the plural, as in "two lion" or "five pheasant". [[Eric Partridge]] refers to these as "snob plurals" and conjectures that they may have developed by analogy with the common English irregular plural animal words "deer", "sheep" and "trout".<ref>Partridge, Eric, ''Usage and Abusage: A Guide to Good English'', revised by Janet Whitcut (New York and London: W. W. Norton, 1997), pp. 238–39.</ref>
The term ''snob plurals'' can be applied more generally to uses of forms of pluralization characterized, first, by their departure from the standard English rule of adding -(e)s, and, second, by the likelihood they are being so used to enhance the status of the speaker. While speaking to a group of monolingual Anglophone friends, someone talking about a recent trip to Russia who says, "We visited five ''oblasti''," is most likely using a snob plural. Latinate plurals for nouns of Greek origin mentioned earlier in this article are often employed as snob plurals—e.g., ''cacti'' or ''hippopotami''—although for substantial numbers of speakers they are simply the [[Marked|unmarked]] usages. The use of nonstandard plurals can be one convenient way to communicate the claim that the speaker has a certain level of knowledge associated with sophistication and, more generally, prestige. Because the [[pragmatics]] of this usage are heavily dependent on context, it's impossible to say that a particular use of pluralization is, or is not, a snob plural in the absence of situational information. Someone speaking at an academic conference to fellow Slavicists might use ''oblasti'' without the expectation of enhanced social status and, therefore, not be using a snob plural (on the other hand, the speaker might fear a loss of social status for using "oblasts"). Articles in encyclopedias are, on the whole, written for the general reader and avoid forms of plural that would likely confuse those not already familiar with the topic.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
* [[English collective nouns]]
* [[English verbs]]
* [[English personal pronouns]]
* [[Count noun]]
* [[Mass noun]]
* [[Singular they]]
==External links==
*[http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/pluralsn.htm Rules for Irregular Plural Formation of Nouns] summary by Pat Byrd, Department of Applied Linguistics & ESL, Georgia State University
[[Category:English grammar|Plural]]
[[Category:Grammatical number]]
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