Higher Lessons in English Part 56

a.n.a.lysis, a.n.a.lyses; ant.i.thesis, ant.i.theses; appendix, appendices _or_ appendixes; automaton, automata _or_ automatons; axis, axes; bandit, banditti _or_ bandits; basis, bases; beau, beaux _or_ beaus; cherub, cherubim _or_ cherubs; crisis, crises; datum, data; ellipsis, ellipses; erratum, errata; focus, foci: fungus, fungi _or_ funguses; genus, genera; hypothesis, hypotheses; ignis fatuus, ignes fatui; madame, mesdames; magus, magi; memorandum, memoranda _or_ memorandums; monsieur, messieurs; nebula, nebulae; oasis, oases; parenthesis, parentheses; phenomenon, phenomena; radius, radii _or_ radiuses; seraph, seraphim _or_ seraphs; stratum, strata; synopsis, synopses; terminus, termini; vertebra, vertebrae; vortex, vortices _or_ vortexes.

The following compound nouns, in which the princ.i.p.al word stands first, vary the first word; as, _sons_-in-law.

+Direction+.--_Form the plural of the following words_:--

Aid-de-camp, attorney-at-law, billet-doux, [Footnote: Plural, billets-doux, p.r.o.nounced _bil'-la:-doo:z_ ] commander-in-chief, court-martial, cousin-german, father-in-law, hanger-on, man-of-war.

The following, and most compounds, vary the last word; as, pailfuls, gentle_men_. [Footnote: _Pails full_ is not a compound. This expression denotes a number of pails, each full.]

+Direction+.--_Form the plural of each of the following nouns_:--

Courtyard, dormouse, Englishman, fellow-servant, fisherman, Frenchman, forget-me-not, goose-quill, handful, maid-servant, man-trap, mouthful, pianoforte, portemonnaie, spoonful, stepson, tete-a-tete, tooth-brush.

The following nouns (except _Norman_) are not compounds of _man_--add _s_ to all.

Brahman, German, Mussulman, Norman, Ottoman, talisman.

The following compounds vary both parts; as, _man-singer_, _men-singers_.

+Direction+.--_Form the plural of each of the following nouns_:--

Man-child, man-servant, woman-servant, woman-singer.

Compounds consisting of a proper name preceded by a t.i.tle form the plural by varying either the t.i.tle or the name; as, the Miss _Clarks_ or the _Misses_ Clark; but, when the t.i.tle _Mrs._ is used, the name is usually varied; as, the Mrs. _Clarks_. [Footnote: Of the two forms, the _Miss Clarks_ and the _Misses Clark_, we believe that the former is most used by the best authors. The latter, except in formal notes or when the t.i.tle is to be emphasized, is rather stiff if not pedantic. Some authorities say that, when a numeral precedes the t.i.tle, the name should always be varied; as, the _two Miss Clarks_.

The forms, the _Misses Clarks_ and the _two Mrs. Clark_, have little authority.]

+Direction+.--_Form the plural of the following compounds_:--

Miss Jones, Mr. Jones, General Lee, Dr. Brown, Master Green.

A t.i.tle used with two or more different names is made plural; as, _Drs_.

Grimes and Steele, _Messrs_. Clark and Maynard.

+Direction+.--_Put each of the following expressions in its proper form_:--

General Lee and Jackson; Miss Mary, Julia, and Anna Scott; Mr, Green, Stacy, & Co.

Letters, figures, and other characters add the apostrophe and _s_ to form the plural; [Footnote: Some good writers form the plural of words named merely as words, in the same way; as, the _if's_ and _and's_; but the (') is here unnecessary.] as, _a's, 2's, ----'s_.

+Direction.+--_Form the plural of each of the following characters_:--S, i, t, +, x, [Dagger], 9, 1, 1/4, [Yough], [Cyrillic: E].

LESSON 114.

NUMBER FORMS--CONTINUED.

Some nouns have two plurals differing in meaning.

+Direction.+--_Learn these plurals and their meanings:_--

Brother, brothers (by blood), brethren (of the same society).

Cannon, cannons (individuals), cannon (in a collective sense).

Die, dies (stamps for coining), dice (cubes for gaming).

Fish, fishes (individuals), fish (collection). [Footnote: The names of several sorts of fish, as, _herring, shad, trout_, etc. are used in the same way. The compounds of _fish_, as _codfish_, have the same form in both numbers.]

Foot, feet (parts of the body), foot (foot-soldiers).

Genius, geniuses (men of genius), genii (spirits).

Head, heads (parts of the body), head (of cattle).

Horse, horses (animals), horse (horse-soldiers).

Index, indexes (tables of reference), indices (signs in algebra).

Penny, pennies (distinct coins), pence (quant.i.ty in value).

Sail, sails (pieces of canvas), sail (vessels).

Shot, shots (number of times fired), shot (number of b.a.l.l.s).

The following nouns and p.r.o.nouns have the same form in both numbers.

+Direction.+--_Study the following list:_--

Bellows, corps, [Footnote: The singular is p.r.o.nounced _ko:r_, the plural _ko:rz_.] deer, gross, grouse, hose, means, odds, pains (care), series, sheep, species, swine, vermin, who, which, that (relative), what, any, none.

(The following have two forms in the plural).

Apparatus, apparatus _or_ apparatuses; heathen, heathen _or_ heathens.

(The following nouns have the same form in both numbers when used with numerals; they add _s_ in other cases; as, _four score, by scores_.)

Dozen, score, yoke, hundred, thousand.

The following nouns have no plural.

(These are generally names of materials, qualities, or sciences.)

Names of materials when taken in their full or strict sense can have no plural, but they may be plural when kinds of the material or things made of it are referred to; as, _cottons, coffees, tins, coppers_.

+Direction.+--_Study the following list of words:_--

Bread, coffee, copper, flour, gold, goodness, grammar (science, not a book), gra.s.s, hay, honesty, iron, lead, marble, meekness, milk, mola.s.ses, music, peace, physiology, pride, tin, water.

The following plural forms are commonly used in the singular.

Acoustics, ethics, mathematics, politics (and other names of sciences in _ics_), amends, measles, news.

The following words are always plural.

(Such words are generally names of things double or multiform in their character.)

+Direction+.--_Study the following list_:--