Introduction

In English, a plural noun is generally made by adding “s ” to the singular.

For example. chair-chairs, table-tables, and book-books. In addition,
sometimes, the plural form changes from the singular form the plural nouns
have two model. There are the regular plural which is only add “S” to the
singular form. In addition, the irregular plural which changes from the
singular form. Prototypical English nouns have both singular and plural
forms. Singular nouns refer to one “person, place, thing, or idea” while
plural nouns refer to “not one” (two or more or less than one) “people,
places, things, or ideas.” Regular nouns are predictable, taking an -s suffix to
form the plural. Irregular nouns are unpredictable, following other rules to
form the plural. (Paul J, 1999:212).

1. Plural categories
English grammarians classify plural into: regular and irregular.
1.1. Regular Plural Nouns in English
Regular plurals are predictable by adding the suffix ‘s’ or ‘es’ (Quirk, et al,
1986, 305). The suffix ‘s’ which is added to nouns to form regular plurals
has three allomorphs, ‘z’, ‘s’, and ‘iz’, determined by the last sound of the
word to which the ending is attached, i.e. it is phonologically determined
(Nasr, 1984, 67). Some grammarians, like Praninskas (1957), have tackled
plural formation through letters, i.e. the final letter determines whether to
add ‘s’ or ‘es’. The researcher supports the first opinion according to the last
sound as it is more practical in some nouns as in ‘epoch’, one may add ‘es’
according to the ending letter and this is wrong as ‘ch’ here is pronounced
/k/ and takes ‘s’ only not ‘es’,
1.1.1 Formation of Regular Plural Nouns

There are considerable spelling notes that might be taken into

consideration while forming regular plural nouns. They are as follows:

1 To form the plural of most nouns in English, simply add the suffix -
s to the end of the noun (Rodney, 1984:85).. The regular plural is
adding “s” to the singular; day-days, dog-dogs and house-houses
(Neena, 2007 :214).
2 For nouns that end in an -s, -z, -x, -ch, or -sh, add the suffix -es to the
end of the noun. For example:
 bush – bushes
 hex – hexes
 match – matches
 coach – coaches
 waltz – waltzes
3 For nouns spelled with a final y preceded by a consonant, change the
y to an i and then add the -es suffix. For example:
 butterfly – butterflies
 sky – skies
 party – parties
 theory – theories
4 For many nouns spelled with a final f or fe, change the f or fe to a
ve and then add the -s suffix. For example:
 wolf – wolves
 elf – elves
  loaf – loaves
(ibid)

However, some nouns spelled with a final f have two acceptable forms.

For example:
 dwarf – dwarfs or dwarves
 hoof – hoofs or hooves
 scarf – scarfs or scarves
 staff – staffs or staves
 wharf – wharfs or wharves
 shelf – selves

Additionally, other nouns spelled with a final f take only the -s suffix in

the plural form. For example:
 belief – beliefs
 chief – chiefs
 gulf – gulfs
 reef – reefs
 safe – safes
5 For nouns spelled with a final o preceded by a vowel, simply add the -
s suffix. For example:
 duo – duos
 radio – radios
 stereo – stereos
 studio – studios
6 For most nouns spelled with a final o preceded by a consonant, add the -
es suffix. For example:
 echo – echoes
 hero – heroes
  potato – potatoes
 tomato – tomatoes (Neena, 2007 :215)
However, some nouns spelled with a final o preceded by a consonant take
either the -s or the -es suffix. For example:
 avocado – avocados or avocadoes
 ghetto – ghettos or ghettoes
 hobo – hobos or hoboes
 tornado – tornados or tornadoes
However, some nouns spelled with a final o preceded by a consonant take
either the -s or the -es suffix. For example:
 avocado – avocados or avocadoes
 ghetto – ghettos or ghettoes
 hobo – hobos or hoboes
 tornado – tornados or tornadoes (Neena, 2007 :216)
1.2 Pronouncing Regular Plural Nouns
Either regular English nouns take an -s or -es suffix in the plural.
However, the spelling and pronunciation of the regular plural noun varies
depending on the particular noun.

Although all regular English nouns take either an -s or -es suffix in the

plural, the suffix is pronounced differently depending on the last sound of
the noun.  For nouns that end in an [s] (s, se, ce), [z] (z, ze), [š] (sh), [č] (ch),
or [ĵ] (j, dge) sound, then the plural suffix is pronounced as [ez] (es). For
example:

 ace – aces
 smudge – smudges
  curse – curses
 squash – squashes
1 For nouns that end in a voiceless [p] (p, pe), [t] (t, tt, te), [k]
(k, ck, ke), [f] (f, gh), [θ] (th), or [h] (h) sound, then the plural suffix is
pronounced as [s] (s). For example:
 mat – mats
 rock – rocks
 cape – capes
 digraph – digraphs
2 For nouns that end in a voiced [m] (m, me), [n] (n, ne), [ng] (ng), [b
(b, be), [d] (d), [g] (g, ge), [v] (v, ve), [ð] (th), [w] (w), [r] (r, re), or [l]
(l, ll, le) sound or any vowel sound, then the plural suffix is
pronounced as [z] (z). For example:
 baby – babies
 floor – floors
 joy – joys
 pew – pews
1.3. Irregular Plural Nouns in English

Unlike most English nouns through which -s or -es suffixation creates the

plural forms, irregular English nouns require different changes from the
singular to the plural. Some irregular English nouns require a vowel sound
change, or ablaut, between the singular and plural forms.

However, certain nouns have irregular plural, which don’t behave in this
standard way. There are some common types of irregular and some words
have no plural for at all ( Quirk and etal 2007 : 76 – 7 )
 The irregular plural is formed through many major devices such as : vowel
change , ( r ) en , consonant change and so , for example :

'1' man – men

'2' foot – feet

'3' child – children

'4' half – halves

'5' house – houses

Some words borrowed from Latin and Greek keep their foreign plural , or
there may be alter nation with regular plural forms , for example :

'6' alumnus – alumni

'7' locus – loci

'8' maximum – maxima

'9' algo – algae

'10' axis – axes

'11' criterion – criteria

'12' index – indices

'13' stratum – strata ( Azar , 1989 : 2001 )

Irregular plurals are by definition un – predictable . Where as the plural /

Iz / in horses , /z/ in dogs , and / s / in cats can be predicted from the final
sound in the singular nouns , there is no indication in the written or spoken
form , for example , sheep , and ox to suggest their plurals are sheep, and
oxen . The particular plurals of these nouns have to be learned as individual
lexical units. ( leech ,
1987:305)

1.3 Types of Irregular Plural

There are many types of irregular plural which are divided according to
certain devices or changes that occurred within a noun ( leech ,1987:305).

1.3.1 Voicing and -s Plural

Some nouns which, in the singular, end in the voiceless fricative spelled
-th and –f have voiced fricatives in the plural, followed by /z/ .in one case
the voiceless fricative is /s/ and the plural has /ziz/ : house – houses.

There is no change in spelling with a consonant before the –th , the plural
is regular : berth , birth, length, etc.

With a vowel before the –th , the plural is again often regular , as with :
cloth , death, moth, ( Quirk and etal 2007 : 85 )

There is considerable indeterminacy between voicing and non voicing in

many nouns ending in -th . With a consonant letter before the -th , the
pronunciation of the plural is regular for example ( Nelson , 2002 : 406-7 ) .

'14' berth - berths

'15' length - lengths
'16' birth - births

1.3.2 Mutation

Mutation is the second type of irregular plural which means the plural is
formed by a change of vowel , in the following seven nouns:
17 - man - men / man / ~ / men /

18 - woman - women / wumən / ~ / wimin / ( Redford , 1982 : 96 )

19 - foot - feet / fu:t / ~ / fi:t /

20- tooth - teeth / tu:Ɵ / ~ / ti:Ɵ /

21 - goose - geese / gu:z / ~ / gi:z /

22 - mouse - mice / maus / ~ / mais /

23 - louse - lice / laus / ~ / lai ( Redford , 1982 : 96 )

Compounds with unstressed . man , as in : English man ~ English men

have no difference in pronunciation at all between singular and plural ,
since both are pronounced ( mən ) , similarly fire man ~ fire men , post man
~ post men ( Quirk . etal , 1987 : 306-7 ) .

1.3.3 The -' En ' Plural

The -En plural is the third type that occurs with three nouns :

24 - brother - brethren

With mutation as well as the "en" ending is limited to brother meaning '
fellow member of a religious society; otherwise regular brothers . Brother
-brethren (used in a special sense, which means a fellow member of
religious society, otherwise regular plural). (Eckersley & Eckersley, 1981,
28).

25 - child - children (with vowel change / ai / ~ / I / and ~r added ) .

26 - Ox ~ Oxen, in AME, the plural oxes is also sometimes found. )

( Radford , 1982 : 96 )
 1.3.4 Zero Plural

Zero plural nouns are nouns, which have the same form in singular and
plural. (Quirk et al. 1985, 307) In other words, these are nouns with
meaning of plural nouns, but with no visible plural ending. (Biber 1999,
288) Zero plurals can be called base plurals. (Huddleston 2002, 1588)

As the zero plural nouns are less common in English than nouns with
regular plural, there is a tendency to divide these nouns into categories,
which differ in most grammar books. The reason for such subcategorization
is arguably better understanding of what kind of nouns belong to the
category of zero plural nouns. Another reason may be differences in
semantic and lexical properties of individual kinds of nouns which
determine whether the noun takes zero plural or regular plural. Thus,
(Quirk, et al 1986) distinguish three types of the zero plurals:

A)Animal Names
Generally, animal names are regular, e.g.
Cat → cats,
dog → dogs
crab → crabs

However , many animal names have two Plural : -s and zero plurals e .
g., duck and herring. Zero plural tends to be used partly by people who
are especially concerned with the animals, partly when the animals
referred to certain use by people, referred to in the mass as game :
 Have you ever shot duck ?

We change only a few fish. ( Algeo , 1973 : 290 )

The regular plural is used to denote different individuals , species for

example :

Can you see the ducks on the pond?

The fishes of the Mediterranean.

( Algeo , 1973 : 290 )

The degree of variability with animal names is shown by :

1- Regular plural by inflected (e)s

/ s / / z / / Iz / .
( bird , cow , eagle , hen , hawk , monkey, rabbit )
2- Usually regular plurals :
crab , duck ( zero only with wild bird )
3- Both regular and zero plural:

( antelope , reindeer , fish , flounder , herring Shrimp , wood cock )

4- Usually zero plural :

(bison , grouse , quail , salmon , swine)
5- Always zero plural :
( sheep , deer , cod) ( Ibid )
B) Nationality Nouns
While the use of zero plural with animal names is rather matter of
semantics and its use differs usually according to the context in which it is
used, the use of zero plural with nationality nouns does not change and is
fixed.
 Nationality nouns with –ese suffix in singular have zero plurals. These
are for example Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese, Portuguese, Sinhalese,
Vietnamese or Swiss. (Quirk et al. 1985, 308; Biber et al. 1999, 289;
Dušková 2003, 40; Huddleston and Pullum 2002, 1589)
Nevertheless, there are nationality and ethnic names, which have usually
zero plural but can be used with the regular –s suffix too. These are names
such as Apache, Bantu, Bedouin, Hopi, Inuit, Kikuyu, Navaho, Sotho or
Xhosa. There is also one exception with the word Sioux which has zero
plural in writing but regular plural in speech. (Quirk et al. 1985, 308;
Huddleston and Pullum 2002, 1589) , for example :
-There are ten Japanese in your class.
-One Lebanese was injured and two Lebanese were killed. (Ibid ) .
C) Quantitative Nouns

According to Quirk (1985), Biber and Greenbaum (1990), quantitative

nouns dozen, hundred, thousand and million have usually zero plural, but
in some cases it can have also regular plural. When nouns are premodified
by another quantitative word, the quantifier has zero plural, but when the
quantitative word is followed by an of-phrase, the quantifier has a regular
plural with –s suffix. (Quirk et al. 1985, 308; ) , for example :

- Five hundred people visited the museum.

- Five hundreds of people visited the museum.

Another zero plural quantifiers are foot and pound, but only in cases when
they are followed by a numeral. In examples [1] and [2] the difference
between the use of foot and feet can be observed. While in [1], singular
form is used because foot is followed by a numeral, in [2] plural has to be
used because it is not followed by any numeral. There is also an exception
with the word pound which may have also regular plural when it is used in
meaning of currency. (Quirk et al. 1985, 309; Biber et. al 1999, 288;
Dušková 2003, 40 – 41) In example [3] the word pound is used in
meaning of currency and that is why regular plural is used. On the other
hand, according to Quirk (1985), example [4] with zero plural form is
grammatically correct too. There is no difference in the meaning between
the example [3] and [4] and so these are considered free variants and it is
rather option of the speaker which possibility he chooses. (Quirk et al.
1985, 309)

[1] He is six foot three.

[2] He is six feet.
[3] The sweater costs four pounds fifty.
[4] The sweater costs four pound fifty.
There are other zero plural quantitative nouns which are not as frequent
as the nouns mentioned above. These are words such as brace, gross,
horsepower, hundredweight, (kilo) hertz, quid, score, stone, yen, yoke and
p (penny). (Quirk et al. 1985, 309; Biber et al. 1999, 288; Dušková 2003,
40) All these words mostly refer to the units of measurement or
currency so it can be compared to the above discussed nouns foot and
pound which are used in the same syntactic environment. Thus, it can be
deduced from this fact that units of measurement often take zero plural
suffixes. In case of currency it is questionable as there are too many
currencies existing.
Biber also claims that zero plural quantifiers are used mostly in speech
and it is considered as non-standard. Zero plural quantifiers than occur in
complex numerical expressions and complex expressions premodifying
nouns such as ten-kilometre-square area or seven-pound note. (Biber et
al. 1999, 288) According to Greenbaum (1990), nouns foot and pound
with zero plural are less common than those with regular plural and are
considered rather dialectical. (Greenbaum and Quirk 1990, 96)