IRREGULAR PLURALS
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Some nouns form their plural irregularly:
child – children goose – geese mouse – mice ox – oxen tooth – teeth foot – feet louse – lice man – men person – people woman – women |
Some nouns remain unchanged in the plural:
craft – craft fish – fish squid – squid spacecraft – spacecraft cod – cod Japanese – Japanese salmon – salmon species – species trout – trout deer – deer means – means sheep – sheep series – series |
Some nouns are only plural:
a) arms (weapons), belongings, cattle, clothes, congratulations, earnings, goods, groceries, greens (vegetables), lodgings, oats, odds (chances), outskirts, people, police, premises (building), regards, remains, riches, savings, surroundings, thanks, etc
b) garments, tools and instruments consisting of two ports: binoculars, compasses, glasses, jeans, pants, pliers, pyjamas, scales, scissors, spectacles, trousers, etc
a) arms (weapons), belongings, cattle, clothes, congratulations, earnings, goods, groceries, greens (vegetables), lodgings, oats, odds (chances), outskirts, people, police, premises (building), regards, remains, riches, savings, surroundings, thanks, etc
b) garments, tools and instruments consisting of two ports: binoculars, compasses, glasses, jeans, pants, pliers, pyjamas, scales, scissors, spectacles, trousers, etc
Here is a list of most common foreign plurals. These are an important part of specialist terminology.
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addendum – addenda
alga – algae analysis – analyses antenna – antennae appendix – appendices automaton – automata axis – axes bacillus – bacilli bacterium – bacteria basis – bases cactus – cactuses, cacti candelabrum – candelabra cargo – cargos or cargoes crisis – crises criterion – criteria curriculum – curricula datum (rarely used) – data diagnosis – diagnoses erratum – errata focus – foci formula – formulas fungus – fungi gymnasium – gymnasia larva – larvae |
locus – loci
matrix – matrices maximum – maximums medium – media/mediums millennium – millennia minimum – minimums, sometimes minima nebula – nebulas or nebulae oasis – oases paparazzo – paparazzi paralysis – paralyses parenthesis – parentheses phenomenon – phenomena podium – podiums, sometimes podia radius – radii or radiuses referendum – referendums or referenda stimulus – stimuli stratum – strata syllabus – syllabuses, sometimes syllabi symposium – symposiums or symposia synopsis – synopses synthesis – syntheses terminus – termini or terminuses thesis – theses vertebra – vertebrae, vertebras |
For more see Plurals of foreign words in English.
