Spelling rules.

I. The suffix –s is added to the nouns

¨ ending in a consonant or a vowel (but –o) preceded by a consonant: books, plates, umbrellas, skis, toes, ties, trees;

¨ ending in –y preceded by a vowel: boy – boys, key – keys, day – days, play – plays.

II. The suffix –es is added to the nouns:

a) ending in –o (preceded by a consonant): tomato – tomatoes, potato – potatoes, echo – echoes, hero – heroes, Negro – Negroes, veto – vetoes, torpedo – torpedoes, embargo - embargoes (but: piano – pianos, solo – solos, photo – photos, cuckoo – cuckoos, portfolio – portfolios, video – videos, zoo – zoos, concerto – concertos ( also concerti), dynamo – dynamos, quarto – quartos, tango – tangos, tobacco – tobaccos, kangaroo – kangaroos, radio – radios, studio – studios, kilo - kilos, cargo – cargo(e)s, banjo – banjo(e)s, halo – halo(e)s.

b) ending in –s, -ss, -x, -sh, -ch, -tch: bus – buses, glass – glasses, box – boxes, brush – brushes, bench – benches, match – matches.

c) ending in –f/-fe, which form their plural changing –f(e) into –v(e):

calf – calves

elf – elves

half – halves

knife – knives

leaf – leaves

life – lives

loaf – loaves

self – selves

sheaf – sheaves

shelf – shelves

thief – thieves

wife – wives

wolf – wolves

Other nouns ending in –f(e) have the plural suffix –s: proofs, chiefs, safes, cliffs, gulfs, reefs, griefs.

In a few cases both –fs and –ves are possible: dwarf – dwarfs/dwarves, scarf – scarfs/scarves, hoof – hoofs/hooves, wharf – wharfs/wharves.

d) ending in – y preceded by a consonant. In this case –y is changed into –i: city – cities. There is no change in proper nouns: Marys, the Kennedys.

III. In compound nouns the plural is formed by:

a) adding –s to the head-word (in compounds formed from a prepositional noun phrase or from a noun + a preposition/adverb/adjective): editors-in-chief, brothers-in-law, men-of-war, lookers-on, passers-by, attorneys-general, courts-martial.

b) adding –s to the final element (a compound is formed from 2 nouns): lady-birds, hotel-keepers, housewives, postmen [1], tooth-brushes, boy-scouts, maid-servants.

c) adding –s to both elements, if the noun begins with man-/woman-: men-servants, women-doctors, gentlemen-farmers.

d) adding –s to the last component when there is no noun-stem: forget-me-nots, merry-go-rounds, grown-ups.

IV. Seven nouns form their plural by changing the root vowel: man – men, woman – women, foot – feet, tooth – teeth, goose – geese, mouse – mice, louse – lice.

Two nouns form their plural by adding –en: child – children, ox – oxen.

V. In some nouns the plural is identical with the singular form: deer, sheep, swine, fish, grouse.

Note: the form fishes denotes different kinds of fish and is seldom used in English.

VI. Some nouns have only the plural form and take the verb only in the plural (pluralia tantum nouns):

a) bellows, breeches, braces, clothes, flannels, fetters, glasses, pants, pincers, pliers, pyjamas, tights, trousers, tongs, tweezers, spectacles, scissors, scales, shorts, stairs, suspenders.

b) arms, contents, goods, greens, holidays, manners, outskirts, quarters, surroundings, thanks, wages, whereabouts, etc.

The noun people takes the verb in the plural in the meaning of ‘люди’.

VII. The nouns gate, sledge, watch, clock are used both in the singular and in the plural: gates, sledges, watches, clocks.

VIII. Some nouns have the plural form but they are treated as singulars: billiards, bowls, dominoes, draughts, barracks, phonetics, physics, classics, linguistics, mathematics, athletics, politics, news, means, measles, mumps, etc.

IX. Uncountable nouns take the verb in singular: hair, advice, information, progress, knowledge, money, tea, gold etc.

Homework:

Arakin: p. 59 ex. 4, p. 463 ex. 15, p. 466 ex. 28, p. 471 ex. 47, p. 483 ex. 85;

Drozdova: p. 169 ex. 11, p. 170 ex. 5, p. 171 ex. 6

X. Some words borrowed from Latin or Greek keep their Latin or Greek plural forms.

Task: consult the dictionary, write out the transcription and translation of the nouns given below, practice their reading.

	transcription	translation
a series – series a species – species a corps – corps
(Greek origin) basis- bases crisis – crises analysis – analyses thesis – theses parenthesis – parentheses axis – axes hypothesis – hypotheses diagnosis – diagnoses oasis – oases criterion – criteria phenomenon – phenomena
(Latin origin) stimulus – stimuli radius – radii nucleus – nuclei corpus – corpora genus – genera formula – formulae (formulas) vertebra – vertebrae antenna – antennae antennas   datum – data stratum – strata erratum – errata index – indices indexes appendix – appendices - appendixes matrix – matrices – matrixes
tableau - tableaux bureau – bureaux (bureaus) tempo - tempi - tempos   memorandum – memoranda / memorandums   curriculum – curricula / curriculums cherub – cheribum / cherubs focus – foci / focuses

[1] There is no difference in pronunciation of the singular and plural

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