Plural Nouns Form

PLURAL NOUNS FORM

The plural form of most nouns is created simply by adding the letter s.
* more than one snake = snakes
* more than one ski = skis
* more than one Barrymore = Barrymores
Words that end in -ch, x, s or s-like sounds, however, will require an -es for the plural:
* more than one witch = witches
* more than one box = boxes
* more than one gas = gases* more than one bus = buses
* more than one kiss = kisses
* more than one Jones = Joneses
Note that some dictionaries list "busses" as an acceptable plural for "bus." Presumably, this is because the plural "buses" looks like it ought to rhyme with the plural of "fuse," which is "fuses." "Buses" is still listed as the preferable plural form. "Busses" is the plural, of course, for"buss," a seldom used word for "kiss."
There are several nouns that have irregular plural forms. Plurals formed in this way are sometimes called mutated (or mutating) plurals.
* more than one child = children
* more than one woman = women
* more than one man = men
* more than one person = people
* more than one goose = geese
* more than one mouse = mice
* more thanone barracks = barracks
* more than one deer = deer
And, finally, there are nouns that maintain their Latin or Greek form in the plural. (See media and data and alumni, below.)
* more than one nucleus = nuclei
* more than one syllabus = syllabi
* more than one focus = foci
* more than one fungus = fungi
* more than one cactus = cacti (cactuses is acceptable)
*more than one thesis = theses
* more than one crisis = crises*
* more than one phenomenon = phenomena
* more than one index = indices (indexes is acceptable)
* more than one appendix = appendices (appendixes is acceptable)
* more than one criterion = criteria
*Note the pronunciation of this word, crises: the second syllable sounds like ease. More than one base in the gameof baseball is bases, but more than one basis for an argument, say, is also bases, and then we pronounce the word basease.
A handful of nouns appear to be plural in form but take a singular verb:
* The news is bad.
* Gymnastics is fun to watch.
* Economics/mathematics/statistics is said to be difficult. ("Economics" can sometimes be a plural concept, as in "The economics of thesituation demand that . . . .")
Numerical expressions are usually singular, but can be plural if the individuals within a numerical group are acting individually:
* Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money.
* One-half of the faculty is retiring this summer.
* One-half of the faculty have doctorates.
* Fifty percent of the students have voted already.
And another handful of nounsmight seem to be singular in nature but take a plural form and always use a plural verb:
* My pants are torn. (Nowadays you will sometimes see this word as a singular "pant" [meaning one pair of pants] especially in clothing ads, but most writers would regard that as an affectation.)
* Her scissors were stolen.
* The glasses have slipped down his nose again.
When a noun names thetitle of something or is a word being used as a word, it is singular whether the word takes a singular form or not.
* Faces is the name of the new restaurant downtown.
* Okies, which most people regard as a disparaging word, was first used to describe the residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s.
* Chelmsley Brothers is the best moving company in town.
* Postcards is my favoritenovel.
* The term Okies was used to describe the residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s. (In this sentence, the word Okies is actually an appositive for the singular subject, "term.")
Plural Compound Nouns
Compound words create special problems when we need to pluralize them. As a general rule, the element within the compound that word that is pluralized will receive the plural -s, but it's...