An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises. George Lyman Kittredge
The pennies were arranged in neat piles.
English money is reckoned in pounds, shillings, and pence.
78. When compound nouns are made plural, the last part usually takes the plural form; less often the first part; rarely both parts.
Examples:
spoonful, spoonfuls;
bathhouse, bathhouses;
forget-me-not, forget-me-nots;
editor-in-chief, editors-in-chief;
maid-of-honor, maids-of-honor;
gentleman usher, gentlemen ushers;
Knight Templar, Knights Templars;
Lord Justice, Lords Justices;
manservant, menservants.
79. Letters of the alphabet, figures, signs used in writing, and words regarded merely as words take ’s in the plural.
“Embarrassed” is spelled with two r’s and two s’s.
Your 3’s look like 8’s.
Tell the printer to change the §’s to ¶’s.
Don’t interrupt me with your but’s!
80. Foreign nouns in English sometimes retain their foreign plurals; but many have an English plural also.
Some of the commonest are included in the following list:12
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| alumna (feminine) | alumnæ |
| alumnus (masculine) | alumni |
| amanuensis | amanuenses |
| analysis | analyses |
| animalculum | animalcula13 |
| antithesis | antitheses |
| appendix | appendices |
| appendixes | |
| axis | axes |
| bacillus | bacilli |
| bacterium | bacteria |
| bandit | banditti |
| bandits | |
| basis | bases |
| beau | beaux |
| beaus | |
| candelabrum | candelabra |
| cumulus | cumuli |
| cherub | cherubim |
| cherubs | |
| crisis | crises |
| curriculum | curricula |
| datum | data |
| ellipsis | ellipses |
| erratum | errata |
| formula | formulæ |
| formulas | |
| genius | genii |
| geniuses | |
| genus | genera |
| gymnasium | gymnasia |
| gymnasiums | |
| hippopotamus | hippopotami |
| hypothesis | hypotheses |
| larva | larvæ |
| memorandum | memoranda |
| memorandums | |
| nebula | nebulæ |
| oasis | oases |
| parenthesis | parentheses |
| phenomenon | phenomena |
| radius | radii |
| seraph | seraphim |
| seraphs | |
| species | species |
| stratum | strata |
| synopsis | synopses |
| tableau | tableaux |
| tempo |
|