Chapter XXVIII: Nouns: Number

=94.= When we wish a noun to denote more than one object, we often change its form slightly. _Man_ becomes _men_, _child_ becomes _children_, _river_ becomes _rivers_.

This change in the form of a noun by which it denotes one object or more than one is called =number=.

Number is said to be one of the =properties= of a noun.

=95.= When a noun denotes one object, it is said to be in the singular number; as, _lion_, _mouse_, _knife_.

When a noun denotes more than one object, it is said to be in the =plural= number; as, _lions_, _mice_, _knives_.

=96.= Most nouns form their plural by adding _s_ or _es_ to the singular; as, _key_, _keys_; _hand_, _hands_; _rope_, _ropes_; _mass_, _masses_; _fox_, _foxes_; _church_, _churches_; _bush_, _bushes_.

This is said to be the =regular= way of forming the plural. Why is it that some words add _es_ instead of _s?_

=97.= Nouns ending in _o_ preceded by a vowel form their plural by adding _s_; as, _folio_, _folios_; _cameo_, _cameos_.

Some nouns ending in _o_ preceded by a consonant add _es_, and others _s_; as, _potato_, _potatoes_; _mosquito_, _mosquitoes_; _solo_, _solos_; _piano_, _pianos_.

=98.= Some nouns form their plural =irregularly=.

(1) A few nouns change the vowel; as, _man_, _men_; _goose_, _geese_; _mouse_, _mice_; _foot_, _feet_; _tooth_, _teeth_.

(2) A few nouns add _en_; as, _ox, oxen_; _child, children_.

(3) Nouns ending in _y_, preceded by a consonant sound, change _y_ to _i_ and add _es_; as, _fly, flies_; _fairy, fairies_.

(4) Some nouns ending in _f_ or _fe_ change _f_ or _fe_ to _v_ and add _es_; as, _wolf_, _wolves_; _knife_, _knives_.

=99.= Some nouns have the same form in both the singular and the plural; as, _deer_, _grouse_, _salmon_.

=100.= Some nouns ending in _s_ look like plural nouns, but are regarded as singular; as, _news_, _athletics_, _gymnastics_.

=101.= Some nouns are used only in the plural; as, _scissors_, _pincers_, _thanks_.

=102.= Compound nouns form their plural in three different ways:—

(1) By adding _s_ to the last word; as, _forget-me-not_, _forget-me-nots_.

(2) By adding _s_ to the principal word; as, _son-in-law_, _sons-in-law_.

(3) By pluralizing both words; as, _manservant_, _menservants_.

=103.= When a title is used with one name, we may pluralize either the name or the title. We may say the _Misses Gray_ or the _Miss Grays_, the _Messrs. Greenwood_ or the _Mr. Greenwoods_.

When a title is used with more than one name, we pluralize the title. We say the _Misses Morgan and Adams_. The title _Mrs._ has no plural, so we must say _Mrs. Morgan and Mrs. Adams_.

=104.= Letters, signs, or figures form their plurals by adding an apostrophe and _s_; as, 6’s, i’s, _t_’s.

=105.= A few foreign nouns have kept their foreign plurals. Some of these in common use are _stratum_, _strata_; _alumnus_, _alumni_; _axis_, _axes_.

=106.= Some nouns have two plurals used with slightly different meanings; as, _penny_ has _pennies_ and _pence_; _brother_ has _brothers_ and _brethren_; _die_ has _dies_ and _dice_. Find out from the dictionary the meanings of these plurals.

The correct plural of a noun cannot always be reasoned out. It should never be guessed. It can always be learned from a dictionary.

=Summary.=—=Number= is that property of a noun by which it denotes one object or more than one.

A =singular= noun denotes one object.

A =plural= noun denotes more than one object.

Nouns form their plural =regularly= by adding _s_ or _es_ to the singular.

Many nouns form their plural =irregularly=.

=Exercise 1.=—Tell the plural of each of the following nouns. Tell how it is formed. Consult the dictionary when you are in doubt.

alto
apostrophe
box
brush
calf
chromo
crisis
cupful
deer
Dutchman
elf
enemy
fez
fife
foot
German
half
hero
hoof
lasso
lioness
loaf
monkey
motto
mouse
negro
noose
Norman
oasis
piano
pony
sheaf
size
soprano
tableau
tooth
vertebra
volcano
wharf
court-martial
Dr. Wright
eyelash
flagstaff
General Allen
hanger-on
jack-in-the-pulpit
Miss Davis
passer-by
postmaster general
will-o’-the-wisp

=Exercise 2.=—Select all the nouns in the following sentences, and tell whether they are singular or plural. Give the singular of each plural word, and the plural of each singular word.

1. Listen! In yonder pine woods what a cawing of crows!

2. A washstand in the corner, a chest of carved mahogany
drawers, a looking-glass in a filigree frame, and a high-backed
chair studded with brass nails like a coffin constituted the
furniture.

3. There have always been medicine men, rain makers, wizards,
conjurers, sorcerers, astrologers, and fortune tellers, ready
to trade on the fears of the weak, the ignorant, and the
superstitious.

4. April brought the blue scylla and the sweet violet; May
brought the much-loved narcissus and lily of the valley.

5. In came the three Miss Fezziwigs, beaming and lovable.

6. People hardly ever do know where to be born until it is too
late.

7. The bell in the church tower was striking six, but I
undressed for the night and buried myself under the bedclothes.

8. As it fell out, the three princesses were talking one night
of whom they would marry.

9. Poor Mrs. Wise! I’m sure she’s to be pitied, living here
with all these grandchildren.

10. As soon as Pussy heard me shut the gate in the yard at
noon, when school was done, she would run up the stairs as hard
as she could go.

11. The puppy’s nightly couch was outside the stable, even
during the coldest weather.

12. The fish, strange creatures called groupers, with great
sluggish bodies and horribly human faces, come crowding up to
be fed.

13. What a hardy set of men they were, those Northmen of old!

14. The streams that have entered into our American life come
from springs very wide apart,—from the Puritan whom James I was
persecuting, and from the courtiers whom he was patronizing;
from the Dutchmen whom Charles II was fighting, and from the
Covenanters whom he was trying to convert at the pistol’s
point; from the Scotchmen who had captured the north of
Ireland, and from the Huguenots who had been driven out of the
south of France.

What is the use of _listen_, sentence 1, _furniture_, 2, _horribly_, 12?

How are the adjectives _weak_, _ignorant_, and _superstitious_ used in sentence 3?