Plural Forms of English Nouns

Plural Forms of English Nouns Have you ever tried explaining to a child why two feet arent foots, or two mice arent mouses? Of course, the grownup response to such questions is, Thats just the way it is. As youngsters, we learned that most nouns in English change from singular to plural with the addition of -s or -es. But regardless of our age, its the few hundred exceptions that can be perplexing. Rule-breakers: mass nounssuch as mud, music, and peacewhich have no plural because they name things that cant readily be countednouns that show up only in the plural (called pluralia tantum)scissors, jeans, and congratulations, for examplea few nouns, like ox and child, that still rely on the Old English plural marker, -ena few other nouns (foot, mouse) that form the plural by changing a voweland several borrowed nouns that hold on to their foreign plural endingssuch as Latin alumni (or alumnae) and Greek criteria To illustrate some of these eccentric plural forms, here are two versions of an amusing little verse by our favorite poet, Author(s) Unknown. The English Lesson (version one) Well begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;But the plural of ox should be oxen not oxes.One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,But the plural of house is houses, not hice.If the plural of man is always called men,Why shouldnt the plural of pan be called pen?If I spoke of my foot and showed you my feet,When I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,Why shouldnt the plural of booth be called beeth?If the singular is this, and the plural is these,Why shouldnt the plural of kiss be kese?Then one may be that, and three would be those,Yet the plural of hat would never be hose.We speak of a brother and also of brethren,But though we say mother, we never say methren.So plurals in English, I think youll agree,Are indeed very trickysingularly. The English Lesson (version two) Now if mouse in the plural should be, and is, mice,Then house in the plural, of course, should be hice,And grouse should be grice and spouse should be spiceAnd by the same token should blouse become blice.And consider the goose with its plural of geese;Then a double caboose should be called a cabeese,And noose should be neese and moose should be meeseAnd if mamas papoose should be twins, its papeese.Then if one thing is that, while some more is called those,Then more than one hat, I assume, would be hose,And gnat would be gnose and pat would be pose,And likewise the plural of rat would be rose.