Types of irregular plural

There are many types of irregular plural, but these are the most common:

Noun type	Forming the plural	Examples
Ends with -fe	Change f to v then Add -s	knife - knives life - lives wife - wives
Ends with -f	Change f to v then Add -es	half - halves wolf - wolves loaf - loaves
Ends with -o	Add -es	potato - potatoes tomato - tomatoes volcano - volcanoes
ends with -us	Change -us to -i	cactus - cacti nucleus - nuclei focus - foci
ends with -is	Change -is to -es	analysis - analyses crisis - crises thesis - theses
ends with -on	Change -on to -a	phenomenon - phenomena criterion - criteria
ALL KINDS	Change the vowel or Change the word or Add a different ending	man - men foot - feet child - children person - people tooth - teeth mouse - mice
Unchanging	Singular and plural are the same	sheep deer fish (sometimes

Spelling: Noun Plurals

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Plurals of nouns can be created in the following ways:

1. Add an -s to form the plural of most words.

• elephant--elephants
• stereo--stereos

2. For words that end in a "hissing" sound (-s, -z, -x, -ch, -sh), add an -es to form the plural.

• box--boxes
• church--churches

3. If the word ends in a vowel plus -y (-ay, -ey, -iy, -oy, -uy), add an -s to the word.

• tray--trays
• key--keys

4. If the word ends in a consonant plus -y, change the -y into -ie and add an -s to form the plural.

• enemy--enemies
• baby--babies

5. For words that end in -is, change the -is to -es to make the plural form.

• synopsis--synopses
• thesis--theses

6. Some words that end in -f or -fe have plurals that end in -ves.

• knife--knives
• self--selves

7. The plurals of words ending in -o are formed by either adding -s or by adding -es. The plurals of many words can be formed either way. To determine whether a particular word ends in -s or -es (or if the word can be spelled either way), check your dictionary or the list below. There are two helpful rules:

a. All words that end in a vowel plus -o (-ao, -eo, -io, -oo, -uo) have plurals that end in just -s:

• stereo--stereos
• studio--studios
• duo--duos

b. All musical terms ending in -o have plurals ending in just -s.

• piano--pianos
• cello--cellos
• solo--solos

c. Plural forms of words ending in -o:

-os	-oes	-os or -oes
albinos armadillos autos bravos broncos cantos casinos combos gazebos infernos kimonos logos maraschinos ponchos sombreros tacos torsos tobaccos typos	echoes embargoes heroes potatoes tomatoes torpedoes vetoes	avocados/oes buffaloes/os cargoes/os desperadoes/os dodoes/os dominoes/os ghettos/oes grottoes/os hoboes/os innuendoes/os lassos/oes mangoes/os mosquitoes/os mottoes/os mulattos/oes noes/os palmettos/oes peccadilloes/os tornadoes/os volcanoes/os zeros/oes

8. The plurals of single capital letters, acronyms, and Arabic numerals (1,2,3,...) take an -s WITHOUT an apostrophe:

• Z (the capital letter Z)--Zs
• UPC (Universal Product Code)--UPCs
• ATM (Automatic Teller Machine)--ATMs
• GUI (Graphical User Interface)--GUIs
• 3 (the Arabic numeral 3)--3s
  

If you are unsure of how to make a noun plural, you can look up the singular form of the noun in a dictionary to get the plural form.

Source: Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

The plural form of most nouns is created simply by adding the letter s.

• more than one snake = snakes
• more than one ski = skis
• more than one Barrymore = Barrymores

Words that end in -ch, x, s or s-like sounds, however, will require an -es for the plural:

• more than one witch = witches
• more than one box = boxes
• more than one gas = gases
• more than one bus = buses
• more than one kiss = kisses
• more than one Jones = Joneses

Note that some dictionaries list "busses" as an acceptable plural for "bus." Presumably, this is because the plural "buses" looks like it ought to rhyme with the plural of "fuse," which is "fuses." "Buses" is still listed as the preferable plural form. "Busses" is the plural, of course, for "buss," a seldom used word for "kiss."

There are several nouns that have irregular plural forms. Plurals formed in this way are sometimes called mutated (or mutating) plurals.

• more than one child = children
• more than one woman = women
• more than one man = men
• more than one person = people
• more than one goose = geese
• more than one mouse = mice
• more than one barracks = barracks
• more than one deer = deer

And, finally, there are nouns that maintain their Latin or Greek form in the plural. (See media and data and alumni, below.)

• more than one nucleus = nuclei
• more than one syllabus = syllabi
• more than one focus = foci
• more than one fungus = fungi
• more than one cactus = cacti (cactuses is acceptable)
• more than one thesis = theses
• more than one crisis = crises*
• more than one phenomenon = phenomena
• more than one index = indices (indexes is acceptable)
• more than one appendix = appendices (appendixes is acceptable)
• more than one criterion = criteria

*Note the pronunciation of this word, crises: the second syllable sounds like ease. More than one base in the game of baseball is bases, but more than one basis for an argument, say, is also bases, and then we pronounce the word basease.

A handful of nouns appear to be plural in form but take a singular verb:

• The news is bad.
• Gymnastics is fun to watch.
• Economics/mathematics/statistics is said to be difficult. ("Economics" can sometimes be a plural concept, as in "The economics of the situation demand that . . . .")

Numerical expressions are usually singular, but can be plural if the individuals within a numerical group are acting individually:

• Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money.
• One-half of the faculty is retiring this summer.
• One-half of the faculty have doctorates.
• Fifty percent of the students have voted already.

And another handful of nouns might seem to be singular in nature but take a plural form and always use a plural verb:

• My pants are torn. (Nowadays you will sometimes see this word as a singular "pant" [meaning one pair of pants] especially in clothing ads, but most writers would regard that as an affectation.)
• Her scissors were stolen.
• The glasses have slipped down his nose again.

When a noun names the title of something or is a word being used as a word, it is singular whether the word takes a singular form or not.

• Faces is the name of the new restaurant downtown.
• Okies, which most people regard as a disparaging word, was first used to describe the residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s.
• Chelmsley Brothers is the best moving company in town.
• Postcards is my favorite novel.
• The term Okies was used to describe the residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s. (In this sentence, the word Okies is actually an appositive for the singular subject, "term.")

Plural Compound Nouns

Compound words create special problems when we need to pluralize them. As a general rule, the element within the compound that word that is pluralized will receive the plural -s, but it's not always that simple. Daughters-in-law follows the general rule, but cupfuls does not. See the special section on Compound Nouns and Modifiers or, better yet, a good dictionary, for additional help.

Problem Children

Many careful writers insist that the words data and media are Latin plurals and must, therefore, be used as plural words. The singular Latin forms of these words, however, are seldom used: datum as a single bit of information or medium as a single means of communication. Many authorities nowadays approve sentences like My data is lost. and The media is out to get the President. Even textbooks in computer science are beginning to use "data" as a singular.

Alumni and alumnae remain problematic. The plural of masculine singular alumnus is alumni; the plural of feminine singular alumna is alumnae. In traditional Latin, the masculine plural form, alumni, could include both genders. This does not go over well with some female alums. We note, furthermore, that Vassar College, which now has both, has lists of alumni and alumnae. Hartford College for Women, we assume, has only alumnae. In its publication style manual, Wesleyan University approves of alumni/ae. The genderless graduate and the truncated and informal alum have much to commend them.

Special Cases

With words that end in a consonant and a y, you'll need to change the y to an i and add es.

• more than one baby = babies
  
• more than one gallery = galleries
  (Notice the difference between this and galleys, where the final y is not preceded by a consonant.)
• more than one reality = realities
  This rule does not apply to proper nouns:
• more than one Kennedy = Kennedys

Words that end in o create special problems.

• more than one potato = potatoes
• more than one hero = heroes
  . . . however . . .
• more than one memo = memos
• more than one cello = cellos
  . . . and for words where another vowel comes before the o . . .
• more than one stereo = stereos

Plurals of words that end in -f or -fe usually change the f sound to a v sound and add s or -es.

• more than one knife = knives
• more than one leaf = leaves
• more than one hoof = hooves
• more than one life = lives
• more than one self = selves
• more than one elf = elves

There are, however, exceptions:

• more than one dwarf = dwarfs
• more than one roof = roofs

When in doubt, as always, consult a dictionary. Some dictionaries, for instance, will list both wharfs and wharves as acceptable plural forms of wharf. It makes for good arguments when you're playing Scrabble. The online version of Merriam-Webster's WWWebster Dictionary should help.

Collective Nouns, Company Names,
Family Names, Sports Teams

There are, further, so called collective nouns, which are singular when we think of them as groups and plural when we think of the individuals acting within the whole (which happens sometimes, but not often).

audience band class committee crowd dozen

family flock group heap herd jury

kind lot [the] number public staff team

Muitas vezes nos deparamos com locuções verbais em formas um pouco diferentes do comum, como no caso de “get in” e “sit down”, por exemplo. Esses tipos de locuções ocorrem predominantemente nos casos de verbos de origem anglo-saxônica. Esses são casos de phrasal verbs, ou seja, verbos que são formados pela junção de um verbo com uma preposição ou um advérbio.

Ex: sit (verbo) + down (advérbio) = sit down (sentar)
get (verbo) + in (preposição) = get in (entrar)

Muitas vezes, o phrasal verb é facilmente identificado como nos casos apresentados anteriormente. Porém existem alguns casos que é relativamente complicado dizer o significado de um phrasal verb como “hold up” (atrasar).

Na verdade, os phrasal verbs possuem um “ar” de informalidade, de gíria, porém se tornaram algo fundamental até mesmo no âmbito formal e principalmente na hora de praticar o inglês falado no dia-dia. Por isso, é necessário que o estudante tenha conhecimento de pelo menos os phrasal verbs essenciais:

Ask out - convidar
Call up – chamar alguém por telefone
Explain away – desculpar-se
Find out - descobrir
Fix up - consertar
Get up – levanter
Give back - devolver
Give in – render-se
Go on - avançar
Go over with – terminar logo com (algo desagradável)
Keep on - continuar
Keep away from - evitar
Look over - examinar
Look up – procurar informações
Make up - inventar
Pick out - escolher
Pick up - erguer
Put off - atrasar
Slow down – tornar algo mais lento
Take back - retornar
Take off – tirar algo
Take on – aceitar um desafio
Talk over - discutir
Think up - criar
Turn off – parar a operação de uma máquina
Turn on – iniciar a operação de uma máquina
Turn up – aumentar o volume

Past perfect continuous

apid Theory you need to know! Teoria que você precisa saber! eview

Este tempo verbal é usado para indicar uma ação em progresso antes de um momento específico no passado. Algo que teve início no passado e continuou até o momento em que outro evento ocorreu.

I had been working hard for 10 years before I got that promotion.

She had been studying for 6 years before she became a lawyer.

O Past Perfect Continuous pode ser usado também para expressar a idéia de causa e efeito, sempre se referindo a eventos no passado.

He became so muscular because he had been doing lots of exercises.

She got the best marks because she had been only studying.

Se não especificamos a duração de um evento, podemos usar o Past Continuous, desde que a idéia a ser expressar for de interrupção.

Compare:

I was sleeping when the door bell rang. => I woke up when I heard the door bell.

I had been sleeping for 2 hours when the door bell rang. => I slept for 2 hours, woke up just before the bell rang.

Existem algumas expressões indicadoras deste tempo verbal, sendo as mais comuns: when, before, prior to, until.

Para formar sentenças no Past Perfect Continuous, usamos as regras:

Afirmativa: had been + verbo principal no gerúndio. had been verbing

I had been working for the same company until I finally quit.

She had been waiting for more than one hour when you arrived.

Negativa: Adicione "not" depois do primeiro verbo auxiliar. had not been verbing

He had not been gambling until you invited him.

Interrogativa: Inverta o sujeito e o primeiro verbo auxiliar.

What had you been doing when his grandmother called?

Present perfect continuous

O present perfect continuous, tal com o present perfect, faz a ligação entre o passado e o presente, ou seja, descreve uma acção que começou no passado e continua no presente ou que terminou no passado mas cujos efeitos são importantes para o presente.

Como se forma:

Com o presente do verbo to have + been + gerúndio (forma com -ing):

afirmativa	interrogativa	negativa
I have been working. You have been working. He has been working. She has been working. It has been working. We have been working. You have been working. They have been working.	Have I been working? Have you been working? Has he been working? Has she been working? Has it been working? Have we been working? Have you been working? Have they been working?	I haven't been working. You haven't been working. He hasn't been working. She hasn't been working. It hasn't been working. We haven't been working. You haven't been working. They haven't been working.

Para que se usa:

• para enfatizar a duração de uma acção que começou no passado e que continua no presente:

e.g.: She's been working all day and she's obviously very tired.

começou de manhã e ainda não parou

• para descrever uma acção que começou no passado e terminou no passado, mas que durou muito tempo e que tem efeitos no presnte:

e.g.: Tom has been marking tests all week, so now he doesn't want to talk about school.

foi uma semana cheia de trabalho e por isso ele não quer falar disso

• para descrever uma acção que nos causa irritação ou fúria:

e.g.: You've been using my t-shirts again! You know I don't like that!

quem fala está irritado

Com o present perfect continuous usam-se as mesmas expressões temporais do que com o present perfect:

how long...? (há quanto tempo...?)

for (há)

since (desde)

lately (ultimamente)

recently (recentemente

Used to

'Used to do' is different from 'to be used to doing' and 'to get used to doing'

Used to do

We use 'used to' for something that happened regularly in the past but no longer happens.

• I used to smoke a packet a day but I stopped two years ago.
• Ben used to travel a lot in his job but now, since his promotion, he doesn't.
• I used to drive to work but now I take the bus.

We also use it for something that was true but no longer is.

• There used to be a cinema in the town but now there isn't.
• She used to have really long hair but she's had it all cut off.
• I didn't use to like him but now I do.

to be used to doing

We use 'to be used to doing' to say that something is normal, not unusual.

• I'm used to living on my own. I've done it for quite a long time.
• Hans has lived in England for over a year so he is used to driving on the left now.
• They've always lived in hot countries so they aren't used to the cold weather here.

to get used to doing

We use 'to get used to doing' to talk about the process of something becoming normal for us.

• I didn't understand the accent when I first moved here but I quickly got used to it.
• She has started working nights and is still getting used to sleeping during the day.
• I have always lived in the country but now I'm beginning to get used to living in the city.