Foreign plurals
Loans of Greek origin
Singular Plural
-is [is] -es [i:z]
basis bases
analysis analyses
crisis crises
thesis theses
parenthesis parentheses
axis axes
hypothesis hypotheses
diagnosis diagnoses
synopsis (резюме) synopses
ellipsis (эллипсис, лингв.) ellipses
-on [an] -a [э]
criterion criteria
phenomenon phenomena
automaton automata
Loans of Latin origin
-us [эs] -i [ai]
-оrа [эrэ]
-era [эrэ]
stimulus stimuli
nucleus nuclei
radius radii
corpus (свод, кодекс) corpora
genus (сорт) genera
fungus (низший гриб) fungi
genius genii (духи), geniuses (гении)
alumnus (бывший ученик, студент) alumni
cactus cacti
focus foci
-a [э] - ae [i:]
formula formulae (but – formulas of politeness)
antenna antennae
vertebra (позвонок) vertebrae
-um [эm] -а[э]
datum (данные) data
stratum (пласт, слой) strata
erratum (опечатка) errata
bacterium bacteria
addendum (приложение, дополнение) addenda
stadium stadia (or stadiums)
-es, -ix [iks] -ices [isi:z]
index indices
appendix appendices
matrix (матрица) matrices
Plural of compound nouns
1. As a rule in compounds it is the second component that takes the plural form:
housewives, tooth-brushes, boy-scouts, maid-servants, stepmothers, boyfriends
2. Compounds in -ful have the plural ending at the end of the word:
handfuls, spoonfuls, mouthfuls, (though spoonsful and mouthsful are also possible).
3. Compounds in which the first component is man or woman have plurals in both first and last components:
men-servants, women-doctors, gentlemen-farmers
But: man-eaters, lady-killers, man-haters, lady-birds
4. Compounds ending in -man change it into -men in spelling. In pronunciation, however, there is no difference between the singular and plural forms, both having [э]:
policeman [эn] - policemen [эn].
Such nouns as German, Roman, Norman are not compounds, and therefore they have regular plurals:
Germans, Romans, Normans.
5. In compounds originating from a prepositional noun phrase where preposition is a linking element only the first noun takes the plural
editors-in-chief, mothers-in-law, commanders-in-chief, men-of-war (военные корабли).
6. In compounds with a conjunction as a linking element the plural is taken by the second noun:
gin-and-tonics.
7. In compound nouns formed by a noun plus a preposition, or an adverb or an adjective only the first element takes the plural:
passers-by, lookers-on, courts-martial, attorneys-general (генеральный прокурор), by-standers (свидетели), hangers-on (прихлебатели)
8. When the compound is a substantivized phrase which does not contain a noun, the last element takes the plural ending -s:
forget-me-nots, breakdowns, stand-bys, grown-ups, close-ups, pick-ups (случайные знакомства), drop-outs (дезертиры), go-betweens (посредники), good-for-nothings.
THE NOUNS FRUIT AND FISH
FRUIT
This noun is uncountable when it is used in the general meaning:
The fruit is not ripe yet.
There is fruit for dessert.
This noun is used as a class countable noun when it denotes different sorts of fruit:
There were different fruits on the table: apples, pears, plums.
A fruit – плод, сорт фруктов
A pear is a juicy fruit.
The fruits of labour.
FISH
This noun is uncountable when it denotes food:
I like fish for breakfast.
There is much fish on the plate.
This noun can also be used as a countable noun when it denotes live fish; in this case it has the identical form for the singular and the plural:
A fish – five fish, many fish
I’ve caught five big fish.
Fish don’t live without water.
The form fishes is used to denote different sorts of fish:
I have bought a book on fresh-water fishes.