Memorandum is plural in English. Plural of nouns in English

Nouns have two numbers: singular and plural.

1. The singular is characterized by the absence of an ending:

• a cup, a table, a teacher, a day.

2. The plural of nouns is formed with the help of the ending -s or -es:

• a sea - seas, a tent - tents, a bus - buses.

However, you should be aware that:

nouns, in singular ending in -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z, form the plural with the ending -es:

a process - processes; a box - boxes;

nouns ending in -about, plural ending in -es or at -s:

hero - heroes, potato - potatoes, tomato - tomatoes

bamboos, photos, pianos, radios, solos, videos.

1. Some nouns form the plural by changing the root vowel:

a man - men, a woman - women, a tooth - teeth, a foot - feet;

a goose - geese, a mouse - mice, etc.

2. There are nouns in which the singular and plural forms are the same:

aircraft (airplane - planes), deer (deer - deer);

means (means - means), salmon (salmon - salmon);

series (row - series, series - series);

sheep (sheep - sheep), trout (trout - trout);

works (factory - factories).

3. Noun child children.

4. Noun oh plural has the form oxen.

5. Noun penny has a plural form sense, if we are talking about the amount of money, and the form pennies, if individual coins are meant:

It costs three pennies. - It costs 3 pence.

Pennies are made of bronze. - Pens are made of bronze.

6. Nouns gate, sledge, watch, clock used in singular and plural:

The gate is open. - The gates are open.

My watch is slow. - My clock is slow.

(At the same time, in Russian the verb always has the plural form, although the noun itself is used in the singular.)

All the gates are open. - All gates are open.

He has two watches. - He has two watches.

7. Nouns with a prefix man-, woman- are plural in both parts of the word:

a man-servant - men-servants

8. Nouns that include a preposition or adverb have the ending -s in its first part, if used in the plural:

a mother-in-law - mothers-in-law

a commander-in-chief - commanders-in-chief

9. Of particular note are the nouns of Latin-Greek etymology, the formation of the plural of which has many variants (it is difficult to list them, therefore, we recommend that in cases where students of English have doubts about the correctness of the variant, check the plural in dictionaries):

• -us -es (chorus - choruses, circus - circuses, bonus - bonuses etc.), ending -i (stimulus - stimuli), have both options at the same time (cactus - cactuses/cacti; This group also includes words such as focus, nucleus, radius, syllabus);
• nouns Latin origin on the -a can form the plural with the ending -ae (alumna - alumnae, larva - larvae), ending -s (area - areas, arena - arenas, dilemma - dilemmas, diploma - diplomas, drama - dramas etc.), have both options (antenna - antennas, as a term in electronics, and antennae- in biology; formula - formulas in general terms and formulae- in mathematics;
• nouns of Latin origin -um plural ending in -s (album - albums, museum - museums, chrysanthemum - chrysanthemums, stadium - stadiums etc.), on -a (stratum - strata, curriculum - curricula), can have both options ( symposium - symposiums / symposia, memorandum - memorandums / memoranda and etc.);
• nouns of Latin origin -ex, -ix can have both double plural forms with endings -es and -ices (index - indices/indexes, appendix - appendices/appendixes, matrix - matrices/matrixes) or just the ending -ices at the noun codex - codices;
• nouns of Greek origin -is form the plural by changing the ending to -es (thesis - theses, crisis - crises, analysis - analyses, basis - bases etc.), there are cases of plural formation by adding the ending -es (metropolis - metropolises) and many other variants of plural formation.

Hello dear readers! Today you will learn how the plural is formed in English language. The topic is not complicated at first glance, but there are many nuances that you should pay attention to.

In English, the plural is formed only by countable nouns, that is, nouns that can be counted. Such nouns can be either singular or plural. I think it's no secret to anyone what the plural is. If the singular is used to refer to one subject or concept, then the plural is used to refer to several items. So, now we will consider the basic rules for the formation of the plural in English. Plural of nouns in English

1. The plural of most nouns is formed by adding the ending −s to a singular noun.

−s reads:

[z] after vowels and voiced consonants
[s] after voiceless consonants

• a tie tie— tie s ties
• a teacher teacher- teacher s[ˈtiːʧəz] teachers
• a room room— room s rooms
• a map map-map s cards

2. Nouns that end in consonants s, ss, sh, ch, tch, x, take the plural ending -es, which is read [ɪz].

• a match match- match es[ˈmæʧɪz] matches

3. Nouns that end in a vowel -about, in the plural also take the ending -es.

• hero hero— hero es[ˈhɪərəʊz] heroes
• tomato tomato−tomato es tomatoes

If before the end -about there is a vowel, then the plural noun takes the ending -s.

• radio radio- radio s[ˈreɪdɪəʊz] radio receivers
• kangaroo kangaroo– kangaroo s kangaroo

If a noun that ends in -about in the singular, is an abbreviation, then in the plural it also takes the ending -s.

• photo (graph) photo)— photo s[ˈfəʊtəʊz] Photo
• kilo (gramme) kilo (gram)-kilo s[ˈkiːləʊz] kilograms

In some cases, variations with −s and -es.

• flamingos flamingos— flamingo s flamingo es flamingos
• volcano volcano—volcano s volcano es volcanoes

4. To nouns that end in -y, and before the end -y there is a consonant, the ending is added -es and at changes to i.

• a factory factory, plant− factor ies[ˈfæktəriz] factories, plants

In case before −at there is a vowel, no change occurs, and the plural is formed by adding the ending -s.

• a day day— day s days

5. Plural of some nouns that end in f, fe, formed by replacing f consonant v and adding an ending -es. The following nouns are subject to this rule:

• calf calf− cal weight calves
• half half− hal weight halves
• elf elf−el weight elves
• knife knife−kni weight knives
• leaves tree leaf−lea weight leaves
• life a life−li weight life
• loaf loaf-loa weight loaves
• self self −sel weight we ourselves
• sheaf bundle— shea weight[ʃiːvz] bundles
• shelf a shelf− shel weight[ʃɛlvz] shelves
• thief thief-thie weight[θiːvz] the thieves
• wife wife− wi weight wives
• wolf −wolves

In some cases, variations with endings are possible f and v.

• hoof hoof— hoo fs, hoo weight hooves
• scarf scarf— scar fs, scar weight scarves
• scarf jetty- whar fs, whar weight pier

Plural exclusion

6. Some nouns have preserved archaic plural forms. The plural of such nouns is formed by changing root vowel or by adding an ending —en.

• a man the male− m e n men
• a woman female−wom e n [ˈwɪmɪn] women
• brother ["brʌðər] brother−br e thr en["breðrɪn] brethren
• foot leg− f ee t legs
• goose goose— g ee se geese
• louse ["laus] louse−l i ce lice
• mouse mouse— m ic e mice
• teeth tooth— t ee th teeth
• a child [ʧaɪld] child− children en[ˈʧɪldrən] children
• ox [ɒks] bull— ox en[ˈɒksən] bulls

7. In English, the forms of some nouns in the singular and in the plural are the same.

• craft ship - ships
• works factory - factories
• species["spi:ʃi:z] biol. view - views
• headquarters ["hed" kwɔ:təz] headquarters - central authorities
• alms [ɑːmz] alms - alms
• barracks [ˈbærəks] barracks - barracks
• corps military dipl. hull - hulls
• grow partridge − partridges
• crossroads [ˈkrɒsˌrəʊdz] road crossing - intersections
• deer deer - deer
• sheep [ʃiːp] sheep − sheep
• fish ["fɪʃ] fish - fish
• fruits fruit - fruits
• gallows [ˈgæləʊz] gallows - gallows
• trout trout - trout
• means means - means
• salmon ["sæmən] salmon - salmon
• series ["sɪəri:z] series − series
• swine pig - pigs

8. Some nouns that are of Latin or Greek origin have retained an archaic form in the plural.

• analysis [ə"næləsɪs] analysis− analyzes [ə"næləsi:z] analyzes
• axis ["æksɪs] axis− axes ["æksɪz] axes
• basis ["beɪsɪs] the basis− bases ["beɪsi:z] basics
• crisis ["kraɪsɪs] a crisis− crises ["kraɪsi:z] crises
• datum ["deɪtəm] given value− data ["deɪtə] data
• erratum typo− errata list of typos
• formula [ˈfɔ:rmjulə] formula− formulae ["fɔ:rmjuli:], formulas ["fɔ:rmjuləz] formulas
• locus ["ləukəs] location− loci ["ləusaɪ] locations
• memorandum [, memə "rændəm] record for memory− memoranda [, memə "rændə], memorandums [, memə" rændəmz] notes
• nucleus cell− nuclei cells
• phenomenon phenomenon− phenomena phenomena
• radius ["reɪdɪəs], [ˈreɪdjəs] radius− radii ["reɪdɪaɪ] radii
• species [ˈspiːʃiːz] kind, type— species [ˈspiːʃiːz] kinds, types
• thesis [ˈθiːsɪs] thesis- theses [θiːsiːz] theses

9. There are a number of nouns in English that are used only in the plural.

• binoculars - binoculars
• breeches ["brɪtʃɪz] − breeches
• glasses ["aɪglɑːsɪz] − glasses
• jeans [ʤiːnz]- jeans
• pajamas, pajamas pajamas
• pliers [ˈplaɪəz] − pliers
• scissors [ˈsɪzəz] − scissors
• shorts ʃɔːts − shorts, underpants
• stockings[ˈstɒkɪŋz] − socks
• tights - tights
• tongs- forceps
• trousers [ˈtraʊzəz] - trousers
• proceeds [ˈprəʊsiːdz] − income
• surroundings - neighborhood
• riches [ˈrɪʧɪz] − wealth
• thanks [θæŋks] − gratitude
• wages [ˈweɪʤɪz] − earnings

Plural Formation of Compound Nouns

1. Compound nouns that are written together, form the plural by adding an ending to the second element.

• school girl schoolgirl— schoolgirl s schoolgirls
• policeman policeman— policem e n policemen

2. If a complex noun, which is written with a hyphen, includes words man or woman, as one of constituent parts words, then all parts of the word take the plural.

• woman-writer writer−wom e n-writer s writers
• gentleman farmer gentleman farmer− gentleman e n farmer sgentleman farmers

3. Compound nouns that are written with a hyphen form the plural by changing the key element in the meaning.

• family-name surname− family-name s surnames
• commander-in-chief commander in chief− commander s-in-chief commanders-in-chief

4. If there is no noun element in the compound noun, then the plural is formed by adding the ending −s to the last element.

• forget-me-not forget-me-not− forget-me-not s forget-me-nots
• merry-go-round carousel− merry-go-round s carousels

Note!

1. In English, some uncountable nouns can be used as countable.

Uncountable: success - luck, success (generally)

• Success is in the details. − A meticulous attitude to business is the path to success.

Calc. :a success successful result− success esgood results

• My new job is a success. − My new job- it's just a happy accident.
• We learn from our success es and failures. − We learn from our successes and mistakes.

2. In English, some nouns can agree with the verb in the singular and in the plural, depending on the context, while not changing their form.

• my family is large. — My family is big.(Family as a whole)
• my family are early risers. — Everyone in our family gets up early.. (Family - as a set of individual members of the team)

3. In English, the same noun can be countable in one sense, and uncountable in another.

Uncountable: iron iron
Calc.: an iron iron— iron s irons

4. In English, some nouns with endings -s have a singular meaning and accordingly agree with singular verbs.

Number [?n?mb?(r)] Number
Singular [?s???j?l?(r)] Singular
Pural [?pl??r?l] Plural

Plural of nouns in English - grammatical category expressing the quantitative characteristic of the object.

The main rule for the formation of the plural of nouns in English is the addition of the ending -s / -es to the singular form. In doing so, the following provisions must be observed:
1. -s is added to nouns that end in consonants and -ce, -ge, -se, -ze.
trace - trace trace
judge - judges

Note: For a better perception of information, only the singular number is indicated in translation into Russian. You need to understand that, for example, the same word in English and in Russian can only have a singular form in English, but both singular and plural forms in Russian.

2. -es is added to nouns that end in -o, -x, -s, -ss, -sh, -ch.
church - churches
fox - foxes fox
3. If the noun ends in -y preceded by a consonant, then -y is changed to -i, the ending -es is added.
lady - ladies
city ​​- cities
4. If the noun ends in -y with a preceding vowel, then -y does not change, the ending -s is added.
day - days
way - ways way
5. For compound nouns, the ending is added to the main word in meaning.
father-in-law - fathers-in-law father-in-law (husband's father)

-s/-es pronounced according to the following rules:
1. [s] after voiceless consonants:
[f], [k], [p], [t], [θ], except for [?], , (item 3)
2. [z] after vowels and voiced consonants:
[b], [?], [v], [m], [n], [?], [l], [r], [ð] + vowels except [z], [?], (item 3 )
3. [?z] after hissing and whistling sounds:
[?], , [s], [z], [?], , , but not [θ] and [ð] (points 1 and 2)

Note: About sounds - in the material " ".

Plural Nouns in English - Exceptions

There are separate categories of exception words that are not subject to the above rule. These include:
1. Nouns in which the vowel of the root changes to form the plural; nouns that are pluralized by adding the ending -en.
man - men
woman - women
goose - geese goose
tooth - teeth
foot - feet
mouse - mice
child - children
ox - oxen bull
penny - pence penny (a small English coin equal to a hundredth of a pound sterling)
2. For nouns ending in -f/-fe, it changes to -v with the addition of -es. This rule applies only to the following twelve nouns:
calf - calves
half - halves half
knife - knives
leaf - leaves leaf (tree)
life - lives life
loaf - loaves loaves
self - selves own personality, one's "I" (as a noun)
sheaf - sheaves bundle
shelf - shelves shelf (book)
thief - thieves thief
wife - wives wife
wolf - wolves wolf
3. The nouns that came into English from Greek and Latin retained their plural form.
analysis - analyzes
antenna - antennae antenna (in electronics)
antennae - antennas antenna (in biology)
appendix - appendices/appendixes
axis - axes axis
bacterium - bacteria
cactus - cactuses/cacti cactus
codex - codices codex, codex
criterion - criteria
crisis - crises crisis
datum - data given value, data element
diploma - diplomas diploma
drama - dramas drama
formula - formula
formulae - formulas formula (in mathematics)
larva - larvae larva
locus - loci location, locus of points, trajectory, position of a gene on a chromosome
nucleus - nuclei nucleus
octopus - octopi/octopodes octopus
phenomenon - phenomena phenomenon, phenomenon
stimulus - stimuli stimulus
stratum - strata layer, layer
thesis - theses thesis
and etc.
4. Nouns whose singular and plural forms are the same.
a. These are nouns:
fish - fish fish
sheep - sheep
deer - deer deer
salmon - salmon salmon
works - works factory
craft - craft ship
aircraft - aircraft
means - means way
series - series series
species - species species, genus
trout - trout trout
b. In addition, nationality names ending in -ese/-ss also apply to this rule:
Japanese - Japanese
Chinese - Chinese
Swiss - Swiss
Portuguese - Portuguese
5. Nouns that have only the singular. These are uncountable nouns (both real and abstract).
a. real
water - X water (but if used in the meaning of "water", then you can use waters)
b. abstract
relationship - X relationship
in. As well as:
advice - X advice
knowledge - X knowledge/knowledge
money - X money
progress - X progress
information - X information
fruit - X/fruits fruit
fish - X/fishes fish

Note: The nouns fruit and fish have the plural forms fruits and fishes, respectively, if the context implies different kinds fruit/fish

D. Nouns that denote the names of any science, game or sport ending in -ics, as well as the word news do not have a plural, although they look similar to it.
news - X news
mathematics - X mathematics
physics - X physics
athletics - X athletics
6. Nouns that have only a plural form.
a. Some collective
X - clothes
X - police police
X - military troops
X - goods goods
X - cattle
b. Various pairs of items
X - scissors scissors
X-trousers
X-glasses
X-jeans

According to the basic rule, the plural of nouns in English is formed by adding the ending to the end of the word -s or –es(if the noun ends in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, as well as for a number of nouns that have Spanish origin and ending in -o like tomato, mosquito, potato, hero, veto: tomato - tomatoes).

In nouns ending in a letter -y with a preceding consonant, y changes to i and adds -es: lady - ladies, party - parties. If the letter -y is preceded by a vowel, then just -s is added: boy - boys.

In the words calf, half, knife, leaf, life, loaf, self, sheaf, shelf, thief, wife, wolf, plural f changes to v+(e)s: shelf - shelves.

Some nouns, due to historical reasons, have other ways of constructing the plural: man - men, woman - women, tooth - teeth, foot - feet, goose - geese, mouse - mice, louse - lice, child - children, ox - oxen, brother - brethren(brethren).

Now let's look at some special cases. You can practice their use and learn more during individual lessons with your teacher.

1. Collective nouns. They can be viewed as a single indivisible whole or as a collection of individuals, objects. These include words such as class, team, crew, staff, group, army, team, committee, audience, family etc. If collective nouns designate a group as a single collective, then the verb-predicate is used in the singular form, for example: His family was large. If collective nouns denote individual representatives that make up a group, then the verb-predicate is used in the plural form, for example: My family are early risers. (Members of my family get up early).

Among the collective nouns there are words that are always perceived as a set - nouns of multitude. This is: people, police, militia, clothes, cattle, poultry. They are used with plural verbs ( e.g. The police were on duty).

Noun people in the meaning of "people" has the meaning of a plural person: People are so mean here. However, in the meaning of "people" it can be used both in the singular and in the plural: UNO helps all people of the world.

2. Uncountable nouns agree with the predicate in the singular. These are nouns: meat, tea, butter, bread, juice, weather, accommodation, advice, permission, behavior, chaos, damage, furniture, luggage, baggage, news, knowledge, scenery, traffic, work, luck, research, progress, information etc.

3. Nouns that have the same shape singular and plural. Some of them end in -s: species, series, means (e.g. That species is rare. those species are common). The other part never ends in -s: sheep, deer, fish (e.g. That deer is young. Those deer are old).

4. Nouns that do not have a plural form. This is:
- names of sciences and sports: mathematics, physics, economics, statistics, ethics, gymnastics ( e.g. Physics was his favorite subject);
- some abstract nouns: news, politics ( e.g. What is the news?);
- name of diseases: measles, mumps, herpes.

5. In compound nouns only the second element usually takes the plural form: housewives, schoolchildren.
In compound nouns with the first element man/woman in the plural, both parts change: women-writers, gentlemen-farmers.
In words with the component -man, it changes to -men: policeman - policemen.
If parts of a compound word are written with a hyphen, then the key component is put in the plural form: man-of-war - men-of-war; hotel-keeper – hotel-keepers.
If there is no noun element in the compound word, then to form the plural, you need to add -s to the last element: forget-me-nots, drop-outs.

6. Nouns denoting objects, bipartite, are used only in the plural form, for example: scissors, trousers, jeans, shorts, pajamas, spectacles, scales. Similar words are often used in the phrase a pair of -s, for example: a pair of scissors, a pair of trousers, etc..

7. The nouns hair, money, knowledge, information, progress are used only in the singular form ( e.g. His hair was grey. The money is on the table).

8. Expression a number of agrees with the plural verb, and the number of requires a singular verb ( e.g. The number of people we need to hire is thirteen. A number of people have written about this subject).

9. Nouns Latin and Greek origin:

Is > -es (Greek) basis, crisis, hypothesis, analysis, thesis, axis ( e.g. The hypothesis were supported by the data)
-on > -a (Greek) criterion, phenomenon ( e.g. These phenomena follow the Newton Law)
-us > -i (lat.) radius, alumnus, nucleus, genius
-a > -ae (lat.) formula, vita
-um > -a (lat.) datum, medium, bacterium
-ix /-ex > -ices (lat.) index, appendix

10. Words like dozen, score (ten), couple, pair, stone (stone weight measure), head (cattle head) have both forms of the number, but if they are used together with a specific numeral, they remain in the singular: e.g. four dozen eggs, two score tables. If they are used in the meaning of "many", then they take the form of the plural: e.g. scores of people, dozens of boxes.