The Penguin Dictionary of American English Usage and Style_7

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The Penguin Dictionary of American English Usage and Style_7 plurals and singulars 293in-law, consuls general, courts martial, foreign languages they were derivednotaries public, sergeants major, and from. As in Latin, the singular words ad-tugs of war. The noun goes first in each dendum, alumnus, datum, genus, minu-of those; it goes second in these: judge tia, ovum, stimulus, and stratum changeadvocates, lieutenant generals, major to the plural addenda, alumni, data, gen-generals. Many compounds that do not era, minutiae, ova, stimuli, and strata. Asend in nouns get simple s endings, partic- in Greek, analysis, criterion, ellipsis, phe-ularly if they are single words: break- nomenon, and thesis change to analyses,throughs, forget-me-nots, knockouts, criteria, ellipses, phenomena, and theses.ne’er-do-wells, takeoffs, and words end- Other words adopted from foreigning in -ful, like cupfuls and spoonfuls. languages present a choice between the original plural and an Anglicized plural.C. Creatures; peculiarities Beau may become either beaux (French) English has a variety of peculiar or beaus. Cactus: either cacti (Latin) orchanges to perplex newcomers. Louse cactuses. Carcinoma: either carcinomataand mouse change to lice and mice. (Greek) or carcinomas. Cherub: eitherBlouse and house become blouses and cherubim (Hebrew) or cherubs. Curricu-houses, but the s sound in house changes lum: either curricula (Latin) or curricu-to a z sound in the plural. You have one lums. Formula: either formulae (Latin)goose or two geese, but mongoose be- or formulas. Index: either indices (Latin)comes mongooses, and moose remains or indexes. Libretto: either libretti (Ital-moose. ian) or librettos. Matrix: either matrices Fish remains fish for individual speci- (Latin) or matrixes. Nucleus: either nu-mens but becomes fishes for different clei (Latin) or, occasionally, nucleuses.types. Many fishes and beasts have sim- Opus: either opera (a possibly confusingple s plurals, but sometimes the singular Latinism) or opuses. Radius: either radiiis treated as a plural, particularly by fish- (Latin) or radiuses. Virtuoso: either vir-ermen and hunters: two flounders or tuosi (Italian) or virtuosos.flounder; three pheasants or pheasant.Other creatures are unchanged in the F. -F endingplural, except for different types or vari- Words that end in the f sound in theeties. John buys two salmon or studies singular may have a -ves ending in thethe different salmons of North America. plural. Calf, half, knife, leaf, life, thief,I saw two deer and wondered which self, wife, and wolf become calves,deers inhabit this region. Coffee, fruit, halves, knives, leaves, lives, thieves,silk, steel, tea, wheat, and wool are selves, wives, and wolves. But wharf maytreated as singular except when different become either wharfs or wharves andtypes or varieties are considered; then s is hoof either hoofs or hooves. Roof be-affixed and it becomes plural. An or- comes only roofs. And still life becomeschard produces lots of fruit and five dif- only still lifes.ferent fruits. G. -ICS endingD. -EN, -REN Words that end in -ics may be con- The -en and -ren forms are descended strued either as singular or as plural. Itfrom Old English. They turn brother, depends on ...