Pasco-Hernando State College
Pluralizing nouns.
The plural form of a noun is the form a noun takes when it refers to more than one item—for example, apple is singular while apples is plural. In the English language, there are many rules and exceptions for pluralizing nouns.
If you are unsure about the correct plural form of a noun, it is best to consult a dictionary. We will address some of the most common pluralization rules below.
The most common way to pluralize a noun is to add - s to the end.
When a noun ends in -ss, -x, -ch, -sh, or -z, pluralize it by adding -es to the end.
The most common way to pluralize a noun ending in - o is by adding - es to the end.
Some nouns ending in - o are pluralized by adding - s to the end.
When a noun ends in a vowel and -y, pluralize it by adding -s to the end.
When a noun ends in a consonant and - y , pluralize it by removing the - y and adding - ies to the end.
The most common way to pluralize a noun ending in - f or - fe is by removing the - f or - fe and adding - ves to the end.
Some nouns ending in - f or - fe are pluralized by adding - s to the end.
Some nouns have irregular plural forms. Memorize such words or refer to a dictionary for assistance.
Some nouns do not change spelling when pluralized.
Some nouns may be pluralized in different ways depending on the intended meaning.
Some nouns may be pluralized in different ways if they are loan words from another language. In such cases, all are considered valid.
When pluralizing a compound noun, pluralize the main noun, which is not always the first or last word in the word group. Refer to a dictionary for assistance when needed.
When using a foreign compound noun or phrase from another language, pluralize the noun or phrase by adding - s to the end.
Verbs can also be pluralized. The verb in a predicate must match forms with the noun in a subject. this is known as subject-verb agreement. When the noun in a subject is singular, the verb in the predicate should be singular. When the noun in a subject is plural, the verb in the predicate should be plural.
If you are unsure about the correct form of a verb, it is best to consult a dictionary.
The most common way to make a verb singular is by adding -s to the end.
When a verb ends in -s s , - x , - ch , - sh, - o , or - z, make it singular by adding - es to the end.
When a verb ends in a vowel and - y , make it singular by adding - s to the end.
When a verb ends in a consonant and - y , make it singular by removing the - y and adding - ies to the end.
The most common way to make a verb plural is by leaving it unchanged from its base form.
Some verbs have irregular singular and plural forms. Memorize such words or refer to a dictionary for assistance.
Since late 16th century, borrowed from Middle French essay , essai ( “ essay ” ) , meaning coined by Montaigne in the same time, from the same words in earlier meanings 'experiment; assay; attempt', from Old French essay , essai , assay , assai , from Latin exagium ( “ weight; weighing, testing on the balance ” ) , from exigere + -ium .
Audio ( ): | ( ) |
essay ( plural essays )
Translations.
(maqāla), (baḥṯ) (šaradrutʻyun), (ēsse) (rosona) , , , (inşa) (in high school) (tvor), (esé), (nárys) (probondho) (esé), (sǎčinénie), (óčerk) (cacicakum:), (catam:ngai) (zok man ) / (záwén), / (lùnwén), (zuòwén) , , , , ; , (in school) , , (ese), (txzuleba) , (dokímio), (pragmateía), (ékthesi), (sýngrama) (meletḗmata) (masá) (nibandh), (mazmūn) , , (essei), (ずいひつ, zuihitsu) (ésse), (şyğarma), (oçerk), (maqala) (ʼatthaʼbɑt) (supil), (esei) (esse), (dilbayan), (ocerk) , (esej) , , (upanyāsaṁ) (nibandha) (maqāla) (maqâle), (jostâr) , , , (sočinénije), (essɛ́), (óčerk) , , class , (maqola), (navištor), (inšo) (inşa) (vyāsamu) (kwaam-riiang) , (esé), (eséj), (tvir), (nárys) (maqālā), (inśāiyā), (mazmūn) (maqale) , , , , (esey) |
From Middle French essayer , essaier , from Old French essaiier , essayer , essaier , assaiier , assayer , assaier , from essay , essai , assay , assai ( “ attempt; assay; experiment ” ) as above.
essay ( third-person singular simple present essays , present participle essaying , simple past and past participle essayed )
Borrowed from English essay ( “ essay ” ) , from Middle French essai ( “ essay; attempt, assay ” ) , from Old French essai , from Latin exagium (whence the neuter gender).
essay n ( plural essays , diminutive essaytje n )
Norwegian bokmål.
Borrowed from English essay , from Middle French essai .
essay n ( definite singular essayet , indefinite plural essay or essayer , definite plural essaya or essayene )
essay n ( definite singular essayet , indefinite plural essay , definite plural essaya )
I have a love/hate relationship with the English language. I love writing and communicating ideas to fellow readers. I (sometimes) hate all the weird rules.
Take plurals, for instance. English has many strange plural words that defy rules or make their own. In this article, we'll cover several tricky plurals (such as "moose" and "moose") and do our best to explain how they work. I hope it drives your love/hate relationship more toward the former!
You probably don't need our help with these. For most words, simply add an "s" to the end of the singular form to make a plural. For instance:
Singular: paper / Plural: paper s
Singular: cat / Plural: cat s
Singular: tree / Plural: tree s
Easy enough. Things get slightly complicated when the word already ends with an "s," or with a "ch," "sh," "x," or "z." In this case, it's often correct to add "es" instead:
Singular: grass / Plural: grass es
Singular: bench / Plural: bench es
Singular: radish / Plural: radish es
What about words like "memory"? To pluralize a word ending in a consonant and the letter "y," replace the "y" with "ies":
Singular: memory / Plural: memor ies
Singular: baby / Plural: bab ies
Singular: glory / Plural: glor ies
Now let's advance to the truly tricky stuff.
As the name implies, irregular plurals don't follow the rules of their regular counterparts. The best way to learn these is to memorize them. Here are a few examples:
One might think calfs is the right word, but it's actually cal ves . There are a few others with a similar construction, including leaf and lea ves , knife and kni ves , and life and li ves .
Hoof and hoofs (or hooves).
Some irregular plurals are actually acceptable in multiple forms, as in the case of the word hoof . The logical plural hoof s actually works here. Yet using hoo ves is also valid. As the writer, it's your choice which you use, so long as you're consistent.
Just don't get tripped up with words that sound similar. For example, hooves is an acceptable plural of hoof . However, prooves is not the plural of proof . The correct plural is proof s . It's just one of those things you have to remember (though ProWritingAid's homonym report can help).
This is certainly one of the stranger ones on this list. The preferred plural of person is not persons . It's people .
However, you've probably heard the word persons used before, such as in the phrase "Missing Persons Case." That's because persons is a formal version of the plural and therefore used almost exclusively in legal settings. So unless you're a law enforcement official, you should opt for people .
What about peoples ? In the words of Jane Mairs , Director of English Language Learning Publishing, "the only time you will want to use the word 'peoples' is when you are referring to groups of people from multiple ethnic, cultural, racial, or national backgrounds." For example:
"The American people." (We use people because we're referring only to Americans.)
"The American, Chinese, Mexican, and English peoples." (We use peoples because we're referring to many folks from many countries.)
There are a few tricky holdovers from these languages that have remained in English. A few examples:
There's no such word as stimuluses (even though that would make logical sense). According to our Ancient Greek friends, the proper plural is stimuli .
Again, you'd probably guess that the plural form of genus would be genuses . However, it's actually genera . Fortunately, if you're not a scientist, this probably won't be a concern too often.
This one came up when I revisited my alma mater the other day. When asked for the reason for my visit, I said, "I'm an alumni." I feared I'd botched it and, sure enough, I had.
What I should've said was, "I'm an alumnus ." That's the singular form for male graduates. For female graduates, the generally accepted form is alumna . The plural form for both is alumni . So if my wife had been there as well, she would've said, "I'm an alumna," or, "We're alumni."
As if that wasn't tricky enough, there's also another plural form for a group of graduates who are all women. It's alumnae . So if my wife was with a female friend who graduated from the same school, she would've said, "We're alumnae."
So to reiterate: alumni can refer to a group of all-male graduates or a group of both men and women. Alumnae can refer only to a group of all-female graduates. If there's even one dude in there, you'd use alumni .
Many animals use the same word for both their singular and plural form. Thanks, animals! These are called invariants. For example, "I saw a moose " is correct, as is, "I saw several moose ." Mooses , meese , and moocices are not real words. Here are some others that fit this category:
Ox and oxen.
Logic rarely factors into English. Therefore, the plural of ox is not oxes . It's oxen ! You probably knew that one if you're a fan of the Oregon Trail computer games.
Since fox rhymes with ox , you might think the plural of fox would be foxen . It's not! The plural of fox is foxes . I made this error several times and felt silly for doing so.
There's a constant debate over the plural form of data . Is it datas ? Is datas even a word?
First of all, data is already a plural word; its singular companion is datum —or was. Unless you're in a technical field, that singular has been largely abandoned. Instead, most grammarians accept data as both a singular and plural form.
So what about the word datas ? It's mostly a matter of opinion. Though some use datas as a plural, others oppose the word. It seems most authorities agree that the preferred form for both singular and plural is data , and that it should be never used with the indefinite article ("a"). Easy to remember, since sentences like "I found a data I think you should see" just sound weird.
If you're still confused, I found this article immensely helpful when researching the topic myself. Check it out!
What are some tricky plurals we missed? Let us know in the comments below!
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Definition of essay noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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Examples of essay, collocations with essay.
These are words often used in combination with essay .
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a toy made from cloth and filled with a soft material so that it is pleasant to hold, often in the form of an animal
Like a bull in a china shop: talking about people who are clumsy
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Grammar exercises - plurals, do the exercises below on plurals and click on button to see the correct answer., what is the correct plural of the word, write down the correct form of the plural:, related materials.
Research is an example of a mass noun (also known as an uncountable noun or a non-count noun ). Mass nouns can cause confusion, especially if English isn’t your first language , because they aren’t pluralized like most other nouns. In this post, we’ll explain how to use research correctly in your writing .
Research means the systematic study of a subject . Regardless of how much study you’re referring to, you should always use the singular form of this noun :
The research is conclusive.
The team did a great deal of research.
We cannot draw conclusions without further research .
It’s very rare for research to take the plural form. So, if you were to write “researches” in an essay or paper , it would look like a mistake. If you want to be specific about the amount of research done, we suggest using a countable noun that can be pluralized instead:
A study / 16 studies
An investigation / two investigations
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An analysis / several analyses
Alternatively, you can combine research with a countable noun:
Three separate research programs were carried out.
I did four pieces of research .
In these examples, research is still written in the singular form, but programs and pieces are plural because we’re referring to more than one of them.
Research is an example of a mass noun, and you should always write it in the singular form. There’s also a plural form (researches), but it’s very uncommon, and if you use it in your writing, it could look like a mistake.
If you need more help with spelling or word use, check out our blog for more writing tips. If you want an expert to check your writing for errors, our proofreading team is always available. You can even send us your first 500 words to be proofread for free .
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Here, the correct plural form of "Essay" is used to convey the idea that the speaker has written more than one essay. Moreover, we can also look at past forms of verbs to further solidify the correct spelling. For instance, the verb form of "Essay" is "Essayed." "Essayed" is the past tense form, and by examining the conjugation ...
The Chicago Manual of Style, one of the more widely used style guides in the United States, says:. Capital letters used as words, numerals used as nouns, and abbreviations usually form the plural by adding s.To aid comprehension, lowercase letters form the plural with an apostrophe and an s.. So: Dikkens with two Ks, but mind your p's and q's. (And always CDs, unless you're talking about ...
Plural Forms of Words
ESSAY definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
To 'Essay' or To 'Assay'? | Merriam- ...
The plural of essay is essays. Find more words at wordhippo.com!
Plural Words With Multiple Spellings
The plural form of a noun is the form a noun takes when it refers to more than one item—for example, apple is singular while apples is plural. In the English language, there are many rules and exceptions for pluralizing nouns. If you are unsure about the correct plural form of a noun, it is best to consult a dictionary.
Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide
essay (third-person singular simple present essays, present participle essaying, simple past and past participle essayed) (dated, transitive) To attempt or try. 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter II, in The House Behind the Cedars: He retraced his steps to the front gate, which he essayed to open.
Plural acronyms and plural abbreviations are a little trickier to figure out than singular ones. Learn some basic rules of forming them with our helpful guide.
Regular Plurals. You probably don't need our help with these. For most words, simply add an "s" to the end of the singular form to make a plural. For instance: Singular: paper / Plural: papers. Singular: cat / Plural: cats. Singular: tree / Plural: trees. Easy enough.
How to Use Plural Nouns in English [ Examples]
Adding s or es endings to irregular nouns (e.g., goose, man, child, foot) 2. Adding an apostrophe to a plural noun when it's not possessive. 3. Adding s endings with nouns that actually need the es ending. 4. Adding pluralizing endings to nouns that don't change at all (e.g., deer, fish, series) 5.
2 essay (on something) a short piece of writing on a particular subject, written in order to be published The book contains a number of interesting essays on women in society. 3 essay (in something) (formal) an attempt to do something His first essay in politics was a complete disaster.
What Are Plural Nouns? Rules and Examples
What Is a Plural Noun? | Examples, Rules & Exceptions
ESSAY definition: 1. a short piece of writing on a particular subject, especially one done by students as part of the…. Learn more.
What is the correct plural of the word? These (person) are protesting against the president. The (woman) over there want to meet the manager. My (child) hate eating pasta. I am ill. My (foot) hurt. Muslims sacrifice (sheep) in a religious celebration called Eid Al Adha. I clean my (tooth) three times a day.
essay in American English. (noun for 1, 2 ˈesei, for 3-5 ˈesei, eˈsei, verb eˈsei) noun. 1. a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative. 2. anything resembling such a composition. a picture essay.
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