Plural of Nouns

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns denote things or individuals that can be counted. Countables have two numbers – the singular and the plural.

1. Normally nouns form the plural by adding –s to the singular form. This plural ending is pronounced as:

v / z/ after voiced consonants and vowels – bed s, bee s, flower s, ladi es;

v /s/ after voiceless consonants – book s, cap s;

v /Iz/ after sibilants – nose s, horse s, bridge s.

2. If the noun ends in -s, -ss, -x, -sh, -ch, -tch the plural is formed by adding –es to the singular stem. This plural ending is pronounced as /Iz/:

a bus – bus es a box – box es

a glass – glass es a bush – bush es

a bench – bench es a match – match es

3. If the noun stem ends in - y:

Consonant + y = y>i + es Vowel + y = y + s

a fly – fl ies, an army – arm ies; a monkey – monkey s, a boy – boy s.

4. If a noun ends in – o:

Consonant + o = o + es Vowel + o = o + s

a potato – potato es, a hero – hero es; a radio – radio s, a cuckoo – cuckoo s.

But: a piano – piano s (піаніно); a solo – solo s (сольний номер); a photo – photo s (фотографія); kilo – kilo s (кілограм).

5. If a noun ends in -f(e):

f(e) > v + es /vz/

a knife – kni ves, a wife – wi ves, a wolf – wol ves.

But there are some nouns in which there is no change:

a chief – chief s (начальник)	a gulf –gulf s (затока)
a roof – roof s (дах)	a kerchief – kerchief s (хусточка)
a belief – belief s (віра)	a safe – safe s (сейф)

a handkerchief – handkerchief s (носова хусточка)

There are some nouns which have two forms:

a scarf – scarf s /scar ves (шарф)

a hoof – hoof s /hoo ves (копито)

a wharf – wharf s /whar ves (пристань).

6. The plural forms of some nouns are survivals of earlier formations.

a) There are 7 nouns which form the plural by changing the root vowel:

a man – men (чоловік)	a goose – geese (гуска)
a woman – women (жінка)	a mouse – mice (миша)
a foot – feet (ступня)	a louse – lice (воша)
a tooth – teeth (зуб)

b) There are 3 nouns which form the plural in –en:

an ox – oxen (бик)

a child – children (дитина)

a brother – brethren (брат (реліг.))

c) In some nouns the plural form does not differ from the singular (they have the same form):

a deer – deer (олень) a fish – fish (риба)
a sheep – sheep (вівця)	a means – means (засіб)
a swine – swine (свиня)	a series – series (серія)
a trout – trout (форель)	a species – species (вид)
an aircraft – aircraft (літак)

d) Some nouns from Latin and Greek retain their original forms:

a/@/>ae/i:/	an antenn a – antenna e, a formul a – formula e;
ex(ix)/ks/ >ices /si:z/	an append ix – append ices, an ind ex – ind ices;
is/Is/>es/i:z/	a bas is – bas es, a thes is – thes es;
on /@n/ > a/@/	a criteri on – criteri a, a phenomen on –phenomen a;
um /@m/ > a/@/	a medi um – medi a, a curricul um – curricul a;
us /@s/ >i/aI/	a cact us – cact i, a nucle us – nucle i;
o /@U/ > i/i:/	a temp o – temp i.

7. In compound nouns the plural is formed in different ways.

a) if a noun is non-hyphenated the last word is used in plural:

a housewife – housewives, an onlooker – onlookers, a postman – postmen.

b) if the noun is hyphenated the main meaningful word (the head word) is used in the plural:

a brother-in-law – brothers-in-law, an editor-in-chief – editors-in-chief.

c) if there is no noun stem in the compound –s is added to the last element:

a forget-me-not – forget-me-nots, a merry-go-round – merry-go-rounds.

d) if the firstword of the compound is man or woman, both words are used in the plural:

a man-servant – men-servants, a woman-doctor – women-doctors.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-29