Transcript OST164 Text Editing Applications

OST164
TEXT EDITING
APPLICATIONS
Chapter 4 - Plurals
Pages 84-88
RULE #1
Most plurals are formed by adding “s” to the singular
forms.
Singular
laugh
meeting
tradition
system
technique
receipt
Plural
laughs
meetings
traditions
systems
techniques
receipts
RULE #2
To form the plural of most singular nouns ending in f,
ff, or fe, add “s”.
Singular
Plural
proof
proofs
safe
safes
staff
staffs
Some nouns of this type change the f or fe to “ve” and
add “s”.
Singular
Plural
leaf
leaves
half
halves
shelf
shelves
life
lives
RULE #3
When a singular noun ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh, add
“es” to form the plural.
Singular
business
box
Plural
businesses
boxes
bench
speech
dish
benches
speeches
dishes
dash
Zerox
dashes
Zeroxes
RULE #4 AND RULE #5
When a singular noun ends in a vowel plus “y”, add “s”
to form the plural.
Singular
Plural
attorney
attorneys
journey
journeys
boy
boys
highway
highways
When a singular noun ends in a consonant plus “y”,
change the “y” to “i” and add “es” to form the plural.
Singular
Plural
city
cities
activity
activities
inquiry
inquiries
company
companies
RULE #6
To form the plural of a hyphenated or a spaced
compound noun, make the main word plural. The
plural may be formed by adding “s”, “es”, or “ies”.
Singular
Plural
HYPHENATED COMPOUND
brother-in-law
brothers-in-law
time-saver
time-savers
cross-reference
cross-references
SPACED COMPOUND
notary public
notaries public
sales tax
sales taxes
bulletin board
bulletin boards
RULE #7
To form the plural of a hyphenated compound noun
that does not contain a noun as one of its elements,
make the final element plural.
Singular
Plural
go-between
go-betweens
drive-in
drive-ins
have-not
know-it-all
have-nots
know-it-alls
RULE #8
When the singular noun ends in “o” preceded by a
vowel, add “s” to form the plural.
Singular
Plural
radio
radios
portfolio
portfolios
But…
Some singular nouns ending in “o” preceded by a
consonant form their plurals by adding “s”; others add
“es”. A dictionary lists the correct plurals.
Singular
Plural
memo
memos
photo
photos
tomato
tomatoes
hero
heroes
RULE #9
Form the plurals of personal titles, numbers, and
abbreviations by adding “s”.
Singular
Plural
Dr.
Drs.
CEO
CEOs
c.o.d
c.o.ds
70
70s
1990
1990s
RULE #10


For some nouns, there are few useful rules for
forming plurals.
You should know the irregular plurals of the
following commonly used nouns.
Singular
Plural
man
men
woman
women
child
children
foot
feet
PLURALS OF FOREIGN NOUNS
Plurals of foreign nouns are often used in
business writing.
 For some foreign nouns there are two correct
forms – an English plural and a foreign plural.

Singular
Plural (English and Foreign)
appendix
appendixes or appendices
criterion
criterions or criteria
focus
focuses or foci
memorandum
memorandums or memoranda
vertebra
vertebras or vertebrae
stigma
stigmas or stigmata
alga
algas or algae
Complete:
1.
2.
Checkup 4-1 on page 87
Checkup 4-2 on page 88