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Nouns that are made plural by changing the spellinginstead of adding an 's', 'es', or 'ies' are called irregular plurals. Some examples of irregular plurals are:
singular / plural
man / men
woman / women
child / children
person / people
mouse / mice
goose / geese
ox / oxen
foot / feet
tooth / teeth
cactus / cacti
alumnus / alumni
medium / media
Normally a noun is made plural just by adding -s or -es. If it ends in a consonant followed by a y, change the -y to an -i before adding -es, unless it is a proper noun. Note that a noun is NOT made plural by adding apostrophe s: 's.
Irregular plurals of nouns are made in several ways:
1. If a noun ends with -fe, remove the -fe and add -ves. Examples: knife, knives. Life, lives.
2. If a noun ends with -f, change -f to -v and then add -es. Examples: wolf, wolves. Thief, thieves. But, roof becomes roofs and dwarf becomes dwarfs.
3. If a noun ends with -o, add -es. Examples: tomato, tomatoes. Hero, heroes. Tornado, tornadoes. But, cello becomes cellos and memo becomes memos.
4. If a noun ends with -us, change -us to -i. Examples: cactus, cacti. Alumnus, alumni. Octopus, octopi.
5. If a noun ends with -is, change -is to -es. Examples: analysis, analyses. Neurosis, neuroses.
6. If a noun ends with -on, change -on to -a. Example: criterion, criteria.
7. Change the vowel, change the word, or add a different ending. Examples: man, men. Person, people. Child, children. Ox, oxen. Die, dice. Cherub, cherubim. Schema, schemata.
8. Unchanging. Singular and plural form are the same. Examples: sheep, deer, and sometimes fish.
9. If a noun ends with -ix or -ex, change -ix or -ex to -ices. Examples: appendix, appendices; matrix, matrices; vortex, vortices.
10. If a noun ends with -um, change -um to a. Examples: medium, media; curriculum, curricula; phenomenon, phenomena; erratum, errata; datum, data.
11. In some cases, if a noun ends with -ouse, change -ouse to -ice. Examples: louse, lice; mouse, mice. This does not apply to all, such as house, grouse, and blouse.
12. In some cases, if a noun contains -oo-, change -oo- to -ee-. Examples: foot, feet; tooth, teeth; goose, geese. This does not apply to all, such as boot, booth, moon, and soot.
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What are the three rules of irregular nouns?
Irregular nouns do not follow the typical rules of adding -s or -es to form plural forms. Irregular nouns may change their spelling completely to form their plural form. Some common irregular nouns include "child" (plural: children), "man" (plural: men), and "woman" (plural: women).
What is the Example of irregular nouns?
Some examples of irregular nouns include "child" (plural: children), "foot" (plural: feet), and "mouse" (plural: mice). These nouns do not follow the typical rules for forming plurals in English.
Do Some irregular nouns change their vowel sound to form the plural?
Yes, some irregular nouns change their vowel sound to form the plural. For example, "man" becomes "men" and "foot" becomes "feet."
What are irregular plural nouns?
Irregular plural nouns are nouns that do not follow the typical pattern of adding "-s" or "-es" to form their plural form. Examples include words like "child" (plural: children) and "sheep" (plural: sheep).
What do you understand by regular and irregular noun?
Regular nouns form their plural by adding "-s" or "-es" to the singular form, while irregular nouns have unique plural forms that do not follow typical rules. Examples of regular nouns include "dogs" and "books," whereas irregular nouns like "children" and "mice" have irregular plural forms.
