Page 25 - New Grammar with a Smile 6

♦ add s at the end of the word when it has no obvious principal word. For example,
• forget-me-not—forget-me-nots
• bus stop—bus stops
• lieutenant general—lieutenant generals
• spoonful—spoonfuls

Plural forms of nouns of foreign origin

English has many words that have been borrowed from Latin and Greek. These
words often make their plurals according to the rules of the language they were taken
from. Here are the rules for making plurals of foreign words.

Type Singular Rule Plural

Nouns ending • bacterium change the • bacteria
in um • datum ending to a • data

Nouns ending • criterion change the • criteria
in on • phenomenon ending to a • phenomena

Nouns ending • antenna add s or e • antennas/antennae
in a • vertebra • vertebras/vertebrae

Nouns ending • fungus change us to i • fungi
in us • syllabus • syllabi

Nouns ending • crisis change i to e • crises
in is • oasis • oases

Nouns ending • vertex change ex to • vertices
in ex • vortex ices • vortices

Nouns ending • matrix change ix to • matrices
in ix • appendix ices • appendices

F. Write the plural forms of these nouns.

1. stimulus 2. analysis

3. cactus 4. stratum

5. phenomenon 6. criterion

7. father-in-law 8. larva

9. vertebra 10. index

25