L204  High Frequency Irregular Plural Nouns

Lecture 1

A regular noun is a noun that becomes plural by adding -s, -es, or -ies.	Regular Nouns
	Singular	Plural
	book	books
	church	churches
	city	cities

 

An irregular noun is a noun that does not follow the conventional spelling changes to make the plural form.	Irregular Nouns
	Singular	Plural
	child	children
	man	men
	woman	women

Irregular Nouns

Spelling Rules		Examples
f Æ v
Some nouns that end in -f or -fe form the plural by changing the f to v before adding the plural ending (-s)	calf elf half knife leaf life loaf self shelf thief wife wolf		calves elves halves knives leaves lives loaves selves shelves thieves wives wolves

 

o Æ oes
Some nouns that end in -o, form the plural by adding -es.	echo hero mango mosquito potato tomato veto zero	echoes heroes mangoes mosquitoes potatoes tomatoes vetoes zeroes

 

no change
Some nouns don’t change in the plural.	deer fish moose sheep	deer fish moose sheep

 

no specific pattern
Some nouns don’t follow any particular pattern.	child goose man mouse person woman tooth	children geese men mice people women teeth

 

gender differences	masculine	feminine	generic
Some nouns have different forms for the masculine and the feminine.  Many of these terms are now generic (non-gender specific).	actor businessman chairman hero host policeman waiter	actress businesswoman chairwoman heroine hostess policewoman waitress	actor businessperson chair, chairperson --- host police officer waiter, server
Other generic professions: mail carrier (instead of mailman or postman) fire fighter (instead of fireman) flight attendant (instead of steward or stewardess)

 

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