The category of number

§ 171. English nouns that are inflected for number (count nouns) have singular and plural forms.

Singular denotes one,plural denotes more than one. Most count nouns are variable and can occur with either singular or plural number. In Modern English the singular form of a noun is unmarked (zero). The plural form is marked by the inflexion -(e)s. The spelling and the pronunciation of the plural morpheme vary.

Regular plurals

I. Nouns ending in vowels and voiced consonants have the plural ending pronouced as [z]:

bee - bees [bi:z], dog - dogs [dɔgz]

II. Nouns ending in voiceless consonants have a voiceless ending:

book - books [buks]

III. Nouns ending in -s, -sh, -as, -ch, -x, -z, (sibilants) have the ending [iz]:

actress - actresses ['æktrɪsɪz]

bush - bushes ['bu∫ɪz]

watch - watches ['wot∫ɪzj

box - boxes ['boksɪz]

IV. Nouns ending in -o have the ending [z]:

hero - heroes ['hɪǝrouz]

photo- photoes ['foutouz]

The regular plural inflexion of nouns in -o has two spellings;-oswhich occurs in the following cases:

a) after a vowel - bamboos, embryos, folios, kangaroos, radios, studios, zoos;

b) in proper names - Romeos, Eskimos, Filipinos;

c) in abbreviations, kilos (kilogramme), photos (photograph), pros (professional);

d) also in some borrowed words: pianos, concertos, dynamos, quartos, solos, tangos, tobaccos.

In other cases the spelling is-oes: tomatoes, echoes, Negroes, potatoes, vetoes, torpedoes, embargoes

Note:

Some nouns may form their plural in either way:

oes/os: cargo(e)s, banjo(e)s, halo(e)s.

V. The letter -yusually changes into-i:

sky skies [skaiz]

But the letter -y remains unchanged -ys:

a) after vowels:

days (except in nouns ending in-quy: soliloquy - soliloquies).

b) in proper names:

the two Germanys, the Kennedys, the Gatsbys;

c) in compounds:

stand-bys, lay-bys.

The word penny has two plural forms:

pence (irregular) - in British currency to denote a coin of this value or a sum of money:

Here is ten pence (in one coin or as a sum of money);

pennies (regular) - for individual coins.

Here are ten pennies.

VI. Thirteen nouns ending in-f(e) form their plural changing-f(e)into-v(e): the ending in this case is pronounced [z]:

Other nouns ending in-f(e) have the plural inflexion -s in the regular way: proof - proofs, chief - chiefs, safe - safes, cliff - cliffs, gulf - gulfs, dwarf - dwarfs, reef- reefs, grief - griefs; the ending is pronounced [s].

In a few cases both-fs and-ves forms are possible:

scarf - scarfs/scarves,

dwarf - dwarfs/dwarves,

hoof - hoofs/hooves.

VII. Nouns ending in-th after a short vowel have the ending -s [s]:

month — months [mʌnθs].

Nouns ending in-th after a long vowel or a diphthong have [9z] in the plural: baths [ba:ðz], paths [paðz], oaths [ouðz].

But: youths [ju:θs], births [bǝ:θs].

VIII. The plural of abbreviations is sometimes formed in spelling by doubling a letter:

In a phrase like "Miss Brown" two different forms are used for the plural. We may either say "the Miss Browns" or "the Misses Brown", the latter being generally considered more correct.

Irregular plurals

§ 173. For historical reasons certain nouns form their plural differently.

1. Seven nouns distinguish plural from singular by vowel change:

2. Two nouns have-en to mark the plural:

ox - oxen, child - children.

Brother has two plural forms: brothers and brethren, the latter being used as a religious term or in elevated style to denote people of the same creed, not relations.

3. With some nouns the plural is identical with the singularform (fordetails see § 176, II):

a) sheep-sheep (овца/ы);

swine - swine (свинья/и);

deer - deer (олень/и);

grouse - grouse (куропатка/и).

This sheep looks small. All those sheep are good.

I bought a grouse (three grouse for dinner).

There’re so many fish, they splinter the paddles.

b) identical singular and plural forms are also typical of nationality nouns in -ese, -ss: Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Swiss.

We met a Japanese. We met many Japanese on our holiday.

Note:

The word for people of the country is the same as the plural noun; the other way is to use substantivized adjectives in this sense:

Englishmen - the English Dutchmen - the Dutch.

c) two nouns borrowed from Latin and one from French also have identical forms for singular and plural:

series - series (ряд, серия);

species - species (вид, порода, род)

corps [ko:] - corps [ko:z] (корпус, род войск).

d) names, indicating number, such as:

pair, couple, dozen, score (два десятка),

stone (мера веса: 14 англ. фунтов = 6,35 кг) and

head (голова - поголовье скота)

have the same form for both the singular and plural when they are preceded by a numeral, that is, they

function as an indication of a kind of measure: two dozen of handkerchiefs, five dozen of eggs. The child

weighs two stone. One thousand head of cattle.

But when they have no number as predeterminer they take the usual plural form: dozens of times, to go in pairs.

4. A number of foreign (particularly Latin and Greek) nouns have retained their original plural endings.

Loans of Greek origin

Loans of Latin origin

Other loan nouns

As can be seen from the above list some loan nouns may have two plural forms: the English plural and the original foreign one:

memorandum	memoranda memorandums	focus	foci focuses
curriculum	curricula curriculums
formula	formulae formulas
cherub	cheribum cherubs

There is a tendency to use the regular English plural forms in fiction and colloquial English and the foreign plural in academic or learned language.

Sometimes different plural forms have different meanings:

Поиск по сайту: