酷兔英语

Plural Nouns
1. Plurals of individual nouns
  Number indicates whether you are talking about one or more than one person, place or thing. If you are referring to only one, the noun is in the singular number. If you are referring to more than one, the noun is in the plural number.
  The plural forms of most nouns are made by adding -s to the singular forms. But if the singular ends with -s, -x, -z, -ch, or -sh, th e plural is made by adding -es.
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
paper
papers
lunch
lunches
taxi
taxis
dress
dresses
idea
ideas
quiz
quizzes
menu
menus
brush
brushes
game
games
box
boxes
  Words that end with -o are different. If such vowels as -a, -e, -i, -o, and -u come just before the -o, only -s is added: studios. If a consonant comes just before -o, usually only -s is added. But in some words, -es is added. You should memorize these common -es words:
cargoes
mosquitoes
potatoes
torpedoes
echoes
mottoes
tomatoes
vetoes
heroes
Negroes
tornadoes
volcanoes
  Words that end with -y form the plural in two ways. Generally, the -y is changed to -i and -es is added.
country--countries   company--companies   army--armies
  But proper names are exceptions, e.g.
Henry--Henrys     Mary--Marys
  If a noun ends in "-y" preceded by a vowel, the plural is formed simply by adding "-s", e.g.
boy--boys       key--keys
  The plural of noun ending with "-f" or "-fe" is formed, sometimes by adding "-s", sometimes by changing "-f" or "-fe" to "-ves". For this there is no all purpose rule.
leaf
leaves
chief
chiefs
half
halves
gulf
gulfs
life
lives
proof
proofs
self
selves
roof
roofs
wife
wives
safe
safes
  Still we should pay attention to the following points:
a. A few nouns form the plural by change of a letter or letters in the middle of the word:

tooth--teeth    woman--women  goose--geese
foot--feet      mouse--mice   louse--lice
b. A few nouns have the same form in both numbers, e.g.
deer  sheep  yoke  means  Chinese li  jin  yuan
c. Names of things consisting of two similar halves, e.g. scissors, trousers, scales, spectacles, tongs, pants, shorts, etc., and some -ing participles usually take plural forms, e.g. savings, belongings, tidings, etc.. Some other nouns always take plural forms in certain sense, e.g. contents(目录),slums(贫民区),goods(货物),thanks(感谢),remains(遗物,遗体),etc..
d. Examples of double plural forms
cloth   cloths 不同的布
    clothes 衣服
fish   fish 可指一尾或多尾鱼
    fishes 不同种类的鱼
fruit   fruit 水果的总称
    fruits 不同种类的水果
genius  geniuses 天才
    genii 鬼
shot  shots 开枪的次数
    shot 投篮
e. The plural forms of some nouns may have different meaning from their singular forms, e.g.
air 空气
airs 架子、架式
condition 情况
conditions 条件、环境
arm 手臂
arms 武器
letter 字母
letters 文学
custom 风俗
customs 关税
minute 分钟
minutes 记录 礼貌
look 看
looks 外表、容貌
colour 颜色
colours 军旗
manner 方式
manners举止、礼貌
sense 意义、常识
senses 感觉
regard 尊敬
regards 致意
work 工作
works 工厂
spirit 精神
spirits酒精、情绪
 
 

生词表:
  • trousers [´trauzəz] 移动到这儿单词发声  n.裤子,长裤   (初中英语单词)
  • singular [´siŋgjulə] 移动到这儿单词发声  a.单一的;非凡的   (高中英语单词)
  • ending [´endiŋ] 移动到这儿单词发声  n.结尾,结局   (高中英语单词)
  • tidings [´taidiŋz] 移动到这儿单词发声  n.消息,音信   (高中英语单词)
  • scissors [´sizəz] 移动到这儿单词发声  n.剪刀,剪子   (英语四级单词)
  • belongings [bi´lɔŋiŋz] 移动到这儿单词发声  n.所有物;行李   (英语四级单词)
  • consonant [´kɔnsənənt] 移动到这儿单词发声  n.辅音 a.符合的   (英语六级单词)
  • memorize [´meməraiz] 移动到这儿单词发声  vt.记住(录);存储   (英语六级单词)