+67.+ So we find that we classify our nouns according to the special
work which they do. Now sometimes we find it necessary to change the
form of the noun to make it express our thought. Thus we say, _book_,
_man_, _boy_, _knife_, when we wish to express the idea of only one of
each object mentioned. But when we wish to express the idea of more than
one of them, we say, _books_, _men_, _boys_, _knives_.
We say, _The boy calls_; _the boys call_. The form of the noun _boy_ is
changed by adding an _s_ to it. The meaning has also changed. _Boy_
denotes one lad; _boys_ denotes two or more lads. Any change in form and
meaning of words is called _inflection_. The change to denote more than
one object is called _number_. The word _boy_, denoting _one_ is in the
_singular number_; the word _boys_, denoting _more than one_ is in the
_plural number_.
+68.+ +Inflection is a change in the form of a word to denote a
different application or use.+
+Number is the form of a noun which shows whether it denotes one or more
than one.+
+The singular number denotes one thing.+
+The plural number denotes more than one thing.+
There are a few rules governing the formation of plurals which we must
know, and these rules are of great assistance in correct spelling.
+69.+ Most nouns form their plural by adding _s_--thus:
boat
boats
day
days
book
books
boy
boys
Long ago in early English all plurals were formed by adding _es_, and
you will read in the first translation of the Bible, for instance, such
words as _bird-es_, _cloud-es_. Later the _e_ was dropped and _s_ added
to the singular without an increase of syllables. But when the singular
ends in an _s_ sound, the original syllable _es_ is retained, for two
hissing sounds will not unite.
+70.+ So nouns ending in _s_, _x_, _z_, _sh_ or soft _ch_, form the
plural by adding _es_ to the singular. These words end with a sound so
much like that of _s_ that we cannot pronounce the plural easily without
making another syllable. Thus:
class
classes
tax
taxes
topaz
topazes
wish
wishes
ditch
ditches
+71.+ In words ending with the _s_ sound but with a final _e_, only _s_
is added to form the plural, but in pronouncing the word we then have
two syllables, thus:
house
houses
place
places
size
sizes
cage
cages
niche
niches
+72.+ Letters, figures, signs, etc., are made plural by adding an
apostrophe and the letter _s_ ('s), thus:
Cross your t's and dot your i's.
Do you know the table of 4's?
While most of our nouns form their plural in this regular way by adding
_s_ or _es_, there are some nouns that form their plural by some other
change in the form of the word.
+73.+ Notice the following list of words and their plurals:
fly
flies
city
cities
key
keys
day
days
story
stories
enemy
enemies
tray
trays
boy
boys
These nouns all end in _y_, yet they form the plural differently. Some
simply add _s_ and the rest change the _y_ to _i_ and add _es_. Can you
discover the reason?
Wherever the _y_ is preceded by a vowel, as _e_ in _key_, _a_ in _tray_,
_o_ in _boy_, the plural is formed by adding _s_. But when the _y_ is
preceded by a consonant, as _l_ in _fly_, _r_ in _story_, _t_ in _city_,
and _m_ in _enemy_, the _y_ is changed to _i_ and _es_ added in forming
the plural.
+If the singular ends in _y_ after a consonant, change _y_ to _i_
and add _es_ in the plural.+
+74.+ There are thirteen nouns ending in _f_ and three in _fe_ which
form the plural in _ves_. They are:
beef beeves
calf calves
elf elves
half halves
leaf leaves
loaf loaves
self selves
sheaf sheaves
shelf shelves
staff staves
thief thieves
wharf wharves
wolf wolves
knife knives
life lives
wife wives
All other nouns in _f_ or _fe_ are regular; adding only _s_, to form the
plural.
+75.+ About forty nouns ending in _o_ after a consonant form the plural
in _es_. The most common ones are:
buffalo
cargo
potato
tomato
negro
veto
cargo
echo
calico
embargo
hero
mulatto
mosquito
motto
tornado
volcano
torpedo
flamingo
Most nouns ending in _o_ form the plural regularly, adding only _s_, as
_pianos_, _banjos_, _cameos_, etc.
+76.+ A few words form their plurals by a change in the word and without
adding _s_ or _es_.
The most common of these words are:
man men
goose geese
ox oxen
woman women
foot feet
mouse mice
brother brethren
tooth teeth
child children
louse lice
+77.+ Proper nouns, when made plural, generally follow the same rule as
common nouns. Thus we write:
All the Smiths, the Joneses, both the Miss Johnsons, one of the Dr.
Davidsons, and the Mrs. Wilsons, were present.
But to prevent the confusion and misunderstanding which might arise in
changing the form of a proper noun, we do not change its form in writing
the plurals; for example:
There were eight Henrys, kings of England.
The two Marys reigned in the kingdom.
It would be confusing to say _eight Henries_, the _two Maries_.
The title is made plural when several are referred to, thus:
Mr. Hayes The Messrs. Hayes
Miss Smith The Misses Smith
+78.+ The title is made plural when used with several names, thus:
Messrs. Brown and White.
Generals Lee and Grant.
Drs. Long and Larson.
+79.+ In the case of nouns formed of two or more words, when
the compound word is so familiar that the parts are not thought
of separately the _s_ is added to the whole compound word, as
_four-in-hands_; _forget-me-nots_; _court-yards_; _spoonfuls_;
_green-houses_; etc. But when one of the parts is more important than
the others, the _s_ is added to the more important part, thus:
mothers-in-law
commanders-in-chief
hangers-on
men-of-war
by-standers
attorneys-at-law
passers-by
step-sons
+80.+ We have many words in our language taken from other languages.
They do not form the plural in these languages as we do, and some of
these words retain their foreign plurals. Some of the most commonly used
of these nouns are the following:
+Singular+ +Plural+
alumnus alumni
analysis analyses
axis axes
datum data
erratum errata
ellipsis ellipses
appendix appendices
bacterium bacteria
basis bases
crisis crises
parenthesis parentheses
radius radii
terminus termini
hypothesis hypotheses
larva larvae
madame mesdames
memorandum memoranda
phenomenon phenomena
stratum strata
thesis theses
+81.+ The following nouns are treated as singular: _news_, _pains_
(meaning care), _acoustics_, _mathematics_, _economics_, _ethics_,
_molasses_, _physics_, _politics_, and other nouns ending in _ics_
except _athletics_. With these always use the s-form of the verb. For
example:
The news _is_ distorted. Not, The news _are_ distorted.
Economics _is_ an important study. Not, Economics _are_, etc.
+82.+ The following nouns are always plural:
alms
annals
amends
antipodes
bellows
billiards
clothes
dregs
eaves
fireworks
hysterics
measles
mumps
matins
nippers
nuptials
oats
premises
proceeds
pincers
riches
rickets
suds
scissors
thanks
tidings
tongs
trousers
vitals
victuals
vespers
With all these nouns always use the form of the verb which is used with
the plural subject. Thus:
Alms are given.
Riches are easily lost.
+83.+ The following nouns have the same form for both plural and
singular, _corps_, _cannon_, _deer_, _grouse_, _heathen_, _hose_,
_means_, _odds_, _series_, _sheep_, _species_, _swine_, _vermin_,
_wages_. You can tell whether the singular or plural is meant by the
meaning of the sentence. For example:
_The cannon is loaded._ Here we are speaking of _one_ cannon.
_The cannon used in the war are of tremendous size._ Here we know are
meant all the big guns used in the war.
When you say, _The sheep is lost_, we know you mean _one_ sheep, but
when you say, _The sheep are in the pasture_, we know you mean the
entire drove.
+84.+ When preceded by a numeral, the following nouns have the same form
for both singular and plural. Without the numerals, the plural is formed
by the adding of _s_; _brace_, _couple_, _dozen_, _hundred_, _pair_,
_score_, _thousand_, _yoke_. For example:
Thousands enlisted.
Three thousand enlisted.
Dozens came at my call.
Two dozen came when I called.