The category of number. The plural of english nouns.

1. The general rule for forming plural English nouns is adding the ending –s/-es to the singular:

a) a map- maps [s] — after voiceless consonants;

b) a table-tables [z] – after voiced consonants & vowels;

c) a bench-benches [iz] — after sibilants ending in –s, -ss, -sh, -ch: exceptions! – epochs, monarchs, stomachs [ks].

2. The nouns ending in –y

   1. preceded by a consonant form the plural by changing –y into -i + adding –es: a city- cities;

   2. preceded by a vowel form the plural by adding –s to the stem of the word: a day-days;

3. The nouns ending in –f/-fe change it into –ves: a wife-wives, a shelf-shelves. But! roof - roofs, safe - safes, cliff - cliffs, belief - beliefs, chief - chiefs, proof - proofs, gulf - gulfs, dwarf - dwarfs, cuff - cuffs,  grief - griefs.

4. The nouns ending in –o

1. preceded by a consonant form the plural by adding –es: a hero-heroes, potato-potatoes; But! This rule doesn't concern proper names (Romeo - Romeos), abbreviations (kilo - kilos, photo - photos) and some borrowed words (piano - pianos, soprano - sopranos, concerto - concertos, solo - solos, tobacco - tobaccos, sombrero - sombreros, kimono - kimonos).

2. preceded by a vowel form the plural by adding –s: a zoo- zoos, a radio-radios;

3. sometimes two variants are possible: cargos/cargoes, volcanos/volcanoes, cargo - cargo(e)s, halo - halo(e)s, banjo - banjo(e)s.

5. The nouns ending in –th

a) preceded by a long vowel form the plural by adding –s & they are pronounced as [ ]: a bath- baths;

b) preceded by a short vowel & consonants form the plural by adding –s & they are pronounced as [ ]: a myth- myths.

6. Irregular nouns form the plural by:

1. changing a root vowel -- a tooth-teeth; man – men, woman – women, tooth – teeth, foot – feet, goose – geese, mouse – mice, louse - lice

2. no changes: a deer-deer; a sheep - sheep (овца - овцы,a swine - swine ( свинья - свиньи) a deer - deer (олень - олени) a craft - craft (самолет - самолеты) a grouse - grouse (куропатка - куропатки) a counsel - counsel (адвокат - группа адвокатов)

3. Some nouns denoting names of animals may have two plural forms: fish - fish / fishes, pike - pike / pikes, trout - trout / trouts, carp - carp / carps, salmon - salmon / salmons

4. Nouns in -ese, -ss denoting nationalities also have the same form for the singular and the plural: a Chinese - many Chinese, a Swiss - many Swiss.

5. by the ending –en child – children, ox – oxen, brother - brethren (not relations, but members of the same society)

8. Plural of Compound Nouns

1. The plural of most compounds is built up by making plural the final component: bookcase - bookcases,  housewife - housewives, boy-scout - boy-scouts, forget-me-not - forget-me-nots, go-between - go-betweens, grown-up - grown-ups, gin-and-tonic - gin-and-tonics, Englishman - Englishmen, policeman - policemen.

2. In a few compound nouns the first component is made plural: father-in-law - fathers-in-law, mother-in-law - mothers-in-law, commander-in-chief - commanders-in-chief, coat-of-mail - coats-of-mail, man-of-war - men-of-war, passer-by - passers-by, looker-on - lookers-on, court-martial - courts-martial, attorney-general - attorneys-general, lady-in-waiting - ladies-in-waiting.

3. Compounds in which the first component is man or woman have the plurals in both components: man-servant - men-servants, woman-doctor - women-doctors, gentleman-farmer - gentlemen-farmers.

4. Is should be noted that such nouns as German, Roman, Norman are not compounds and therefore they form the plural in regular ways: German - Germans, Roman - Romans.

9. The plural of abbreviations is sometimes formed by doubling a letter: Ms (manuscript) - MSS, p. (page) - pp., Mr (Mister) - Messrs ['mesəz], M.P. (Member of Parliament) - M.P.s. ['em'piz], M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) - M.D.s. ['em'diz], Co. (Company) - Co.s [kouz], Nos. (numbers).

10. The nouns of Latin or Greek origin form the plural in their own way: