Irregular plural nouns

NOTE: l.Some plural nouns keep their plural ending when used attributively: a goods

Formation	Examples
1. Some nouns that end in -o add - esto form the plural:	echoes heroes potatoes tomatoes
2. Some nouns that end in -o add only -s:	autos photos solos tattoos kilos pianos sopranos videos memos radios studios zoos
3. Some nouns that end in -o add either -es or -s:	mosquitoes/mosquitos volcanoes/volcanos tornadoes/tornados zeroes/zeros
4. Some nouns that end in -for -feare changed to -ves in the plural:	calf- calves, leaf- leaves, thief- thieves,half- halves,loaf- loaves,scarf- scarves/scarfs
5. Some nouns that end in -f simply add -s to form the plural:	belief- beliefschief- chiefs cliff- cliffsroof- roofs
6. Some nouns have the same singular and plural form: (e.g., One deer is...Two deer are...)	deer fish means series sheep
7. Some nouns borrowed from other languages(in particular from Latin and Greek) may retain their foreign plurals, but generally only in technical usage. In non-technical usage, the regular plural is normal in some of the instances listed below: • nouns in -us, with plural in -i: • nouns in -us, with plural in -a: • nouns in -a, with plural in -ae: • nouns in -um, with plural in -a: • nouns in -is, with plural in -es: • nouns in -exor -ix, with plural in -ices• nouns in -on, with plural in -a: • nouns in -eau, with plural in -eaux • nouns in -o, with plural in -i:	stimulus –– stimuli, alumnus, bacillus, nucleus, corpus ––– corpora, genus –– genera, alga –– algae, antenna, formula, vertebra medium - media, addendum, curriculum, hypo­thesis –– hypotheses, thesis, crisis, oasis, appendix –– appendices, codex, index, matrix phenomenon –– phenol­mena, criterion bureau –– bureaux tempo-tempi, virtuoso

8. Some nouns are • uninflected plurals, without singulars: • inflected plurals, without singulars: • singulars, without plurals:	cattle, livestock, police, poultry, vermin arms(weapons), customs (tax), manners (behavior), premises (building) linguistics, news, physics
9. Binary plurals-somenouns with plural inflection refer to instruments or articles of clothing that consist of two parts that are joined together; they take a plural verb:	scissors, shorts, binoculars, tweezers, pants, clothes, tongs, pajamas, people, trousers, (eye)glasses, spectacles, slacks
10. Compoundsgenerally follow the regular rule by adding the regular-s inflection to their last element:   • compounds ending in an adverb also generally follow the regular rule: • though having the plural inflection at the end, these two break the spelling rule by retaining у before the inflection: • the following two compounds are exceptional in taking the inflection on the first element: • a few compounds ending in -fulusually take the plural inflection on the last element, but have a less common plural with the inflection on the first element: • compounds ending in -in-lawallow the plural either on the first element or (informally) on the last element: • some compounds consisting of a noun plus a postmodifying adjective also allow both alternatives: • other compounds with a post­modifying adjective or prepositional phrase have the plural inflection only on the first part:	Gunfight –––gunfights, pop group –– pop groups, two-year-old ––– two-year-olds gin-and-tonic ––– gin-and-tonics   close-up –– close-ups, take-over ––– take-overs   lay-by –– lay-bys, stand-by –– stand-bys     passer-by ––– passers-by, listener-in ––– listeners-in   mouthful ––mouthfuls/mouthsful spoonful ––– spoonfuls/spoonsful     sister-in-law –– sisters-in-law or sister-in-laws     attorney general –– attorneys general or attorney generals   poet laureate –– poets laureate or poet laureates court martial ––– courts martial or court martials heir apparent ––– heirs apparent, notary public –– notaries public commander-in-chief –– commanders-in-chief right-of-way –– rights-of-way

train, a glasses case. When used without the plural ending, a different meaning appears: a good train, a glass case.

2. Media in the sense «mass media» is often treated as singular.

3. The noun does not have a plural ending when it is preceded by a numeral + a noun:
a three-week holiday/a three weeks' holiday

a two-mile walk/a two miles' walk

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