{"id":31,"date":"2022-05-20T21:08:59","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T21:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-ecc-guidetowriting\/chapter\/irregular-plural-nouns\/"},"modified":"2022-05-20T21:08:59","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T21:08:59","slug":"irregular-plural-nouns","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-ecc-guidetowriting\/chapter\/irregular-plural-nouns\/","title":{"raw":"Irregular Plural Nouns","rendered":"Irregular Plural Nouns"},"content":{"raw":"\n\"geese<\/strong>Irregular plurals<\/strong>, unlike regular plurals, don't necessarily follow any particular pattern\u2014instead, they follow a lot of different<\/em> patterns. Because of this, irregular plurals require a lot of memorization; you need to remember which nouns belong to which type of pluralization. Mastering irregulars uses a different region of your brain than regular pluralization: it's an entirely different skill set than regular pluralization. So don't get too frustrated if you can't remember the correct plural. If you're ever in doubt, the dictionary is there for you.\n

No Change (Base Plurals)<\/h2>\nThe first kind of irregular plural we'll talk about is the no-change<\/strong> or base plural<\/strong>. In these words, the singular noun has the exact same form as the plural. Most no-change plurals are types of animals:\n
    \n \t
  • sheep<\/li>\n \t
  • fish<\/li>\n \t
  • deer<\/li>\n \t
  • moose<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Mid-Word Vowel Change<\/h2>\nIn a few words, the mid-word vowels are changed to form the plural. This video lists all seven of these words and their plurals.\n\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/VdLOP9teko4\n
    Note:<\/strong> The plural for a computer mouse (as opposed to the fuzzy animal) can either be mice<\/em> or mouses<\/em>. Some people prefer mouses<\/em> as it creates some differentiation between the two words.<\/div>\n

    Plural -en<\/em><\/h2>\nAnd last we have plural -en<\/em>.<\/strong> In these words -en<\/em> is used as the plural ending instead of -s<\/em> or -es<\/em>.\n
      \n \t
    • child \u2192 children<\/li>\n \t
    • ox \u2192 oxen<\/li>\n \t
    • brother \u2192 brethren<\/li>\n \t
    • sister \u2192 sistren<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      Note:<\/strong> Brethren<\/em> and sistren<\/em> are antiquated terms that you're unlikely to run into in your life; however, since these are the only four words in English that use this plural, all four have been included above.<\/div>\n
      \n

      Practice<\/h3>\nWhat are the correct plurals for the following words?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Singular<\/th>\nPlural<\/th>\nSingular<\/th>\nPlural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
      goose<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\nmoose<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      fish<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\nchild<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      man<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\ntooth<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n[reveal-answer q=\"245006\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\n[hidden-answer a=\"245006\"]\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Singular<\/th>\nPlural<\/th>\nSingular<\/th>\nPlural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
      goose<\/td>\ngeese<\/em><\/td>\nmoose<\/td>\nmoose<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      fish<\/td>\nfish<\/em><\/td>\nchild<\/td>\nchildren<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      man<\/td>\nmen<\/em><\/td>\ntooth<\/td>\nteeth<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n[\/hidden-answer]\n\n<\/div>\n

      Borrowed Words -i<\/em>, -en<\/em>, -a<\/em>, -es<\/em>, -ae<\/em><\/h2>\nThe last category of irregular plurals is borrowed words. These words are native to other languages (e.g., Latin, Greek) and have retained the pluralization rules from their original tongue.\n

      Singular -us<\/em>; Plural -i<\/em><\/h3>\n
        \n \t
      • cactus \u2192 cacti<\/li>\n \t
      • fungus \u2192 fungi<\/li>\n \t
      • syllabus \u2192 syllabi<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nIn informal speech, cactuses<\/em> and funguses<\/em> are acceptable. Octopuses<\/em> is preferred to octopi<\/em>, and the ancient Greeks used the pluralization \"octopodes.\" The use of octopi<\/em> is a common use of the plural form of the word \"octopus.\"\n\nIf you are in doubt, it's a good practice to look up the word in a dictionary. Here are few other singular to plural forms of irregular nouns.\n

        Singular -a<\/em>; Plural -ae<\/em><\/h3>\n
          \n \t
        • formula \u2192 formulae (sometimes formulas<\/em>)<\/li>\n \t
        • vertebra \u2192 vertebrae<\/li>\n \t
        • larva \u2192 larvae<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Singular -ix<\/em>, -ex<\/em>; Plural -ices<\/em>, -es<\/em><\/h3>\n
            \n \t
          • appendix \u2192 appendices (sometimes appendixes<\/em>)<\/li>\n \t
          • index \u2192 indices<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Singular -on<\/em>, -um<\/em>; Plural -a<\/em><\/h3>\n
              \n \t
            • criterion \u2192 criteria<\/li>\n \t
            • bacterium \u2192 bacteria<\/li>\n \t
            • medium \u2192 media<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Singular -is<\/em>; Plural -es<\/em><\/h3>\n
                \n \t
              • analysis \u2192 analyses<\/li>\n \t
              • crisis \u2192 crises<\/li>\n \t
              • thesis \u2192 theses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                \n

                Practice<\/h3>\nWhat are the correct plurals for the following words?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
                Singular<\/th>\nPlural<\/th>\nSingular<\/th>\nPlural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
                memorandum<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\nemphasis<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                focus<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\nbasis<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                nucleus<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\nphenomenon<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                appendix<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\ncurriculum<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                parenthesis<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\nhypothesis<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                stimulus<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\nvertebra<\/td>\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n[reveal-answer q=\"245005\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\n[hidden-answer a=\"245005\"]\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
                Singular<\/th>\nPlural<\/th>\nSingular<\/th>\nPlural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
                memorandum<\/td>\nmemoranda<\/em><\/td>\nemphasis<\/td>\nemphases<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                focus<\/td>\nfoci<\/em> (focuses<\/em> is also acceptable)<\/td>\nbasis<\/td>\nbases<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                nucleus<\/td>\nnuclei<\/em><\/td>\nphenomenon<\/td>\nphenomena<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                appendix<\/td>\nappendices<\/em> (appendixes<\/em> is also acceptable)<\/td>\ncurriculum<\/td>\ncurricula<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                parenthesis<\/td>\nparentheses<\/em><\/td>\nhypothesis<\/td>\nhypotheses<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                stimulus<\/td>\nstimuli<\/em><\/td>\nvertebra<\/td>\nvertebrae<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n[\/hidden-answer]\n\n<\/div>\n","rendered":"

                \"geese<\/strong>Irregular plurals<\/strong>, unlike regular plurals, don’t necessarily follow any particular pattern\u2014instead, they follow a lot of different<\/em> patterns. Because of this, irregular plurals require a lot of memorization; you need to remember which nouns belong to which type of pluralization. Mastering irregulars uses a different region of your brain than regular pluralization: it’s an entirely different skill set than regular pluralization. So don’t get too frustrated if you can’t remember the correct plural. If you’re ever in doubt, the dictionary is there for you.<\/p>\n

                No Change (Base Plurals)<\/h2>\n

                The first kind of irregular plural we’ll talk about is the no-change<\/strong> or base plural<\/strong>. In these words, the singular noun has the exact same form as the plural. Most no-change plurals are types of animals:<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • sheep<\/li>\n
                • fish<\/li>\n
                • deer<\/li>\n
                • moose<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  Mid-Word Vowel Change<\/h2>\n

                  In a few words, the mid-word vowels are changed to form the plural. This video lists all seven of these words and their plurals.<\/p>\n