PLURALS

Irregular Plurals of English Nouns

Regular Plural Nouns: Add -S
wall walls
ski skis
cat cats

Nouns Ending in -ch, -sh, -x, -s sounds: Add -ES
switch switches
brush brushes
box boxes
address addresses
Exception: When -CH is pronounced like K (stomach/

stomachs)

Nouns Ending in -y: End with -IES
baby babies
army armies
puppy puppies

Nouns Ending in -F sound: Change to -VES
knife knives
wife wives
half halves
self selves
wolf wolves
leaf leaves
There are some exceptions, such as chef/chefs & roof/roofs

Nouns Ending in -O: -S or -ES
(depends on the word!)

Always –ES:
potato/tomato potatoes/tomatoes
hero heroes
torpedo torpedoes
echo echoes

Always –S:
stereo stereos
memo memos
solo solos
zoo zoos
studio studios

Some can be both!
ghetto ghettos ghettoes
mango mangos mangoes
motto mottos mottoes
tornado tornados tornadoes
tuxedo tuxedos tuxedoes
volcano volcanos volcanoes

Nouns that look plural, but take a singular verb:
news – The news was so depressing.
gymnastics – Gymnastics is great for getting in shape.
economics/mathematics – Economics is quite difficult.

Nouns that look singular, but take a plural verb:
pants – These pants are too small.
scissors – Where are the scissors?
glasses – When I last saw your glasses, they were on the table.

VERY Irregular Nouns
man men
woman women
child children
person people
tooth teeth
foot feet
vertebra vertebrae
mouse mice
goose geese

Nouns that do not change
one sheep, two sheep
one deer, two deer
one fish, two fish
one series, two series
one species, two species

Latin/Greek words: US –> I
alumnus/alumna alumni
cactus cacti
fungus fungi
nucleus nuclei
stimulus stimuli

Latin/Greek words: IS –> ES
analysis analyses
crisis crises
diagnosis diagnoses
hypothesis hypotheses
oasis oases

Latin/Greek Words: UM/ON –> A
bacterium bacteria
criterion criteria
curriculum curricula
datum data
millennium millennia
phenomenon phenomena

20 Common Acronyms in English

An acronym is a word formed by the initial letters of two or more words. For example, UN is an acronym for “United Nations.” Some people are even known by acronyms, such as JFK for former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, or CFO for a company’s Chief Financial Officer. We usually pronounce acronyms by saying each of their letters separately.

Do you know these common acronyms in English?

a.k.a = also known as
Ex) Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, a.k.a. Lady Gaga, is one of the biggest pop stars of the 21st century.

BLT = bacon, lettuce, and tomato (sandwich)
Ex) Do you want a tuna sandwich or a BLT

BS = bullshit (offensive)
Ex) I can’t believe I failed biology. That’s such BS! It’s just because the teacher hates me.

BYOB = bring your own booze (bring your own alcohol to a party/social event)
Ex) The party starts at 8. BYOB.

CEO = Chief Executive Officer (the president of a company or organization)
Ex) The CEO of that company makes a million dollars a year.

DIY = Do-it-yourself
Ex) Pam would rather buy something ready-made than do a DIY project.

ER = Emergency Room (of a hospital)
Ex) After the car accident, the victims were rushed to the ER.

ETA = Estimated time of arrival
Ex) What’s the ETA on the shipment of the new equipment?

FYI = For your information
Ex) FYI, the bank is closed tomorrow because it’s a holiday, so you might want to make your deposit today.

GNP = Gross National Product (the value of all the products and services produced by a country in a year. It is a measure of the size of the country’s economy).
Ex) China currently has the world’s second-largest GDP.

HQ = headquarters (a center of operations or administration)
Ex) The company has offices throughout the country, but its HQ is located in the capital.

HR = Human Resources (the department of a company that is concerned with employee relations, hiring, dismissal, etc.)
Ex) My co-worker was sexually harassing me and I had to complain to HR.

MIA = Missing In Action (used for members of the military who disappear during combat or a mission, and whose status is unknown)
Ex) Five soldiers are MIA after a surprise attack destroyed the military base.

PR = Public Relations (the practice of distributing information to the public and the media)
Ex) The non-profit organization hired a specialist to take care of PR.

RIP = From the Latin phrase requiescat in pace (Rest in Peace) – for someone who has died

RN = Registered Nurse
Ex) After her kids graduated and left home, Joanne went back to school to pursue her dream of becoming an RN.

TBA = To Be Announced
Ex) The conference will be held October 15-19. Location TBA.

TGIF = Thank God It’s Friday
Ex) I’ve worked until 9 PM every day this week. TGIF!

UFO = Unidentified Flying Object (often used to refer to possible alien spaceships)

VIP = Very Important Person
Ex) Tickets to the VIP section of the nightclub cost three times as much.

English Language..........Confounding???!!!