In the English language, plural words DO NOT always end with an "s" or "es" suffix, since foreign words are often borrowed permanently in English
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Alumni, alumnae, dice [di is an alternate plural], curricula, deer, cattle, fish, geese, stadia, teeth, feet, these, those, them, you and we are examples of common words which end in letters other than "s" or "es". Some of the words have retained their original Latin plural letters and some are merely exceptions to the "s" and "es" rule to which you refer.
The following entry from AOL's Homework Help :
You already know how to make most nouns into plurals just by adding an -s at the end of the word. There are plenty of words that do not follow the rule, however.
Here is an easy case to remember: If a word ended in -s, -z, -x, -sh, or -ch, add -es to the end.
Examples: dress - dresses; fizz - fizzes; fox - foxes; wish - wishes; watch - watches.
When a noun ends in -o, you also have to add -es.
Examples: hero - heroes; tomato - tomatoes
Exceptions to the rule: studio, piano, kangaroo, zoo, buffalo, cargo, motto, . Just add -s to these words.
If a noun ends in a consonant plus the letter "y", change the "y" to "i" and add -es.
Examples: city - cities; country - countries
When a noun ends in -f or -fe, you change the "f" to "v" and add -es.
Examples: knife - knives; half - halves; scarf - scarves
Here is one that always gave me trouble. I hope this makes it easier for you!
Sometimes a singular noun ends in -um or -on. To make it a plural, change the -um to an -a.
Examples: curriculum - curricula; phenomenon - phenomena
How about nouns that end in -ex or -ix? To make them plural, change that ending to -ices.
Examples: vertex - vertices; index - indices
Nouns that end in -us become plurals by changing the ending to -i.
Example: stimulus - stimuli
Some nouns are always plural, but do not end in "s".
Examples: cattle, police, people.
Read an English grammar textbook and/or a dictionary to learn more about plural word endings.
P.S. Thanks to AOL for their excellent explanation!
An oddball plural : one die, two or more dice. One mouse, two mice. One goose, two geese. One tableau, two tableaux. BUT -- One moose, two moose. One deer, two deer.
More InformationEnglish is generally considered to be one of the most 'irregular' of common languages. That means that it's difficult to learn because there are so few structural rules, and because the few that exist are broken constantly in unpredictable ways.(Examples of more 'regular' languages include Latin and any of the Romance languages -- French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.) (Even less 'regular' examples abound, such as Mandarin Chinese and Navajo.)
This irregularity in language stems largely from the mixed heritage of the original English, and continues to the present day with the incorporation of the influences of large bodies of immigrants to the UK and especially to the US, a nation of relatively short heritage, but long diversity.
More information
There are also plurals derived from Old English, namely ox, oxen and child, children. Brethren is also such a plural although the singular form of "brether", a word form of brother, has disappeared, as well as undergoing a change in meaning.
Plural for feminine words Un ami - a (male) friend une amie a (female) friend des amies - (female) friends. the same for adjective following the verbs être and the verb avoir (only if the direct object is placed before the verb) Il est marié - He's married Elle est mariée - She's married Elles sont mariées. They (women) are married This a a general rule but there are a lot of exception.
Nouns which end in the letters s, z, ch, sh, and x, add -es to the end of the word. For example:
For words ending in the letter o, sometimes they are pluralized by adding -s, while other words must be pluralized by adding -es. These words must be memorized, because there is no simple rule to explain the differences. For example:
You add "es" instead of "s" to plural nouns to make the words flow better
For example:
watch -> watches
batch -> batches
All you have to do is add an 's' at the end of the words.
The plural form of trochlea is trochleae. If a singular word ends in an "a" then add an "e" at the end to make it plural.
Words that end in s, x , ch, sh or z require an -es to form the plural.
One word would be "prince". Add an -s and you have the plural - "princes". Add another -s and you have "princess", a word in singular form.
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The plural of "borrador" in Spanish is "borradores."
To make "Johnson" plural, simply add an "s" to the end of the word, resulting in "Johnsons."
The plural form of fair is fairs. You add an s on the end to make it plural.
For words that end in O, add either s or es.
You add an "s" at the end of it. Careers.
Add an 's' to the end.
Some words end in a consonant + y. To make them plural, change y to i and add es. Candy -> Candies
All you have to do is add an 's' at the end of the words.
The plural of "iPhone" is "iPhones". You simply add a -s to the end of the word to make it plural.
Add an "s" to the end and you get "equivalents"
To make a word ending in a vowel plural, simply add -s to the end of the word. For example, "cat" becomes "cats" in plural form.
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