86 CHAPTER X. INFLEXION OF NOUNS.-II. NUMBER. 90. Number is an inflexion which shows whether we are speaking of one thing or of more than one. When we speak of one thing, the form of the noun is singular; when of more than one thing, the form of the noun is plural. In Greek there was a dual number with separate inflexions, used when two things were spoken of, and English once had a dual number in the personal pronouns. But the absence of a dual from modern English is not a matter for regret. It is enough to distinguish between one and more than one; to distinguish between one, two, and more than two, is a needless refinement. 91. The ways of forming plurals in English nouns are shown in the following classified scheme, which should be learnt by heart : Table of Plural Forms. I. Add -s to the singular. II. Add -es to the singular of I. Nouns ending in a sibilant, viz., s, z, sh, x, ch. 2. Nouns ending in ƒ or fe, if of English origin and preceded by / or by a long vowel; change ƒ into v. 3. Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant; change y into ¿. Some nouns ending in o. III. Archaic or Old English forms: I. Add -en, ox-en. 2. Add -er, child-(e)r-en. (3. Change the vowel: men, geese. IV. Foreign forms: 92. Ancient; seraphim, phenomena, appendices. Remarks on the Table of Plural Forms. I. The ordinary mode of forming a plural in modern English is to add -s in writing: thus a new word like telephone or cablegram takes s. If however a word is borrowed directly from a foreign language, it may retain the form of the plural which it had in that foreign language. Such a word is then said to be 'imperfectly naturalized'; it has not yet become an English subject. Observe however that though we add s in writing, we often add & in pronunciation. We have seen that if a surd s is added to a word ending in a sonant, either the inflexion s or the last letter of the noun must be altered. Both sounds must be sonant or both must be surd; otherwise it is difficult to pronounce them in the same syllable. Thus we write slabs, pods, hogs, but we pronounce these words slabz, podz, hogz. To pronounce them slaps, pots, hocks, preserving the true sound of the s, would be to obscure the nouns themselves. II. This inflexion in s is a survival of the older form of the plural in -es. I. The inflexion es as a separate syllable is necessarily retained to make the plurals of nouns ending in a sibilant sound. For if we add s to words with s, z, sh, x, or ch, for their last letter, such as gas, topaz, bush, box, church, the s thus added cannot be pronounced. As we have seen, x is an abbreviation of ks, so words ending in a really end in s. The ch of which we speak here is the ch of arch, beech, and is really a compound of t+sh, so the sibilants enumerated above are reducible to three, viz., s, z, sh. The hard ch of monarch and the ch of the Scotch loch take s. 2. For the formation of plurals of nouns ending in an ƒ sound, it is impossible to state concisely a rule which shall cover all instances. The rule, as we have stated it, is rather complicated, yet some words evade it. The following nouns illustrate the rule: leaf, loaf, calf, wife, wolf, self, for these words are of English origin and the vowel is long, or, if short, the ƒ is preceded by l. On the other hand, the long vowel sound oo in roof, hoof, is not followed by -ves: these words take s. Staff, though of English origin and with long vowel, has for its plural both staves and staffs. Strife, safe, brief, chief, proof, take s conformably with the rule, as they are not of English origin, but come from the French. But beef is exceptional in making beeves, as it is a French word. Wharf, dwarf, scarf, turf, are found with plurals in both forms, fs and ves. 3. There is hardly anything in the nature of an exception to the rule respecting nouns ending in y. A word like soliloquy, which makes its plural in ies, looks as if it were an exception, but it really follows the rule, for the combination qu has the force of kw, which is a consonantal sound. Perhaps the only established exception is flys, meaning 'carriages,' and inn-keepers can scarcely be blamed for refraining from advertising 'Flies on hire.' Some words in ey are occasionally found with their plural in ies, e.g. monies, but it is better to spell them according to the rule. With regard to nouns in o, it is difficult to discover any principle which determines whether their plurals are in s or in es. Many of our words in o are of Italian origin, and these take s, as do all nouns in io. The nouns in o which take es are usually of earlier introduction. Cargo, echo, hero, potato, negro, take es: canto, solo, alto, piano, folio, oratorio, take s. Observation and practice are required to enable us to form the plurals of nouns in for in o correctly. Rules are of little or no use for the purpose. Still it is our business in dealing with grammar to search out the principles, if such there are, on which the rules are based, although the rules when we get them may be insufficient guides. III. Old English forms, other than es and s, which survive in modern English are few. I. Oxen is the only modern English word which presents us with the form en simply. Chicken is not a plural form, though it is used as such in country districts. Kine is a double plural: cow in Old English modified its vowel to form the plural and became cy, as mouse becomes mice, and the plural inflexion en was also added. Swine however is not the plural of sow. In Old English several neuter nouns of one syllable, such as swine, sheep, deer, folk, underwent no change of their singular form when they were used in the plural number. 2. Child-er-en is a double plural, the er being one sign of the plural and the en another. No other word preserves for us the inflexion er with a plural force. Brethren is a double plural, brother having already modified its vowel to mark the plural, before en was added. But the -r- in brethren, unlike the r in children, belongs to the original word, and is not an inflexion. 3. There are only six nouns, in addition to the double forms mentioned above, which change their vowel to mark the plural: man, foot, tooth, goose, mouse, louse. IV. To those who know Latin and Greek, foreign plural forms seldom present any difficulty. People who have learnt no Latin sometimes make the plurals of neuter nouns wrong and talk of animalculæ or effluvia instead of saying animalcula and effluvia. Most of these nouns from dead languages can now be used with English plural forms: we can say formulas, memorandums, dogmas, as well as formulæ, memoranda, dogmata. Cherubim and seraphim are Hebrew plurals, but it is only in the language of religion that we use these forms. We speak of babies as 'plump little cherubs,' not 'plump little cherubim,' and say of a chorus of girls that they sing 'like seraphs,' not 'like seraphim.' The forms cherubims, seraphims, are double-plurals. 93. The following paragraphs contain illustrations of various kinds of anomaly in the number of nouns. Anomaly means 'unevenness,' or irregularity.' (1) Some nouns are used in the Plural without change of form. The following are examples: deer, sheep, swine, score, yoke (‘five yoke of oxen'), the names of several sorts of fish,—salmon, trout, cod: also grouse, brace, hundredweight, gross. (2) A few nouns appear to be Plural but are really Singular. In the following words, the s is not a sign of the plural but is a part of the original word. Alms: in O. E. almesse, borrowed through the Latin from the 'Greek root which we preserve in the word 'eleemosynary.' Eaves: in O. E. efese. Riches: we took our noun from the French richesse, though we had the adjective rich in English. Owing to a mistaken notion respecting the s in these words, they are treated as plurals: 'If riches increase, set not your heart upon them.' (3) Some nouns Plural in form are sometimes treated as Singulars. News always takes a singular verb and a singular demonstrative adjective: This news is not true,' not 'These news are not true.' Yet news is a translation of the Medieval Latin nova, and means literally 'new things.' Small-pox is a plural in disguise, for pox is really pocks: we have the singular in chicken-pock. Yet we never use a plural verb with small-pox. Tidings, means, amends, pains, odds, wages, are treated sometimes as singular, sometimes as plural. To decide whether we are acting more in accordance with usage if we regard them as singular or as plural, we should place a verb after them and also observe whether they are more appropriately qualified by this or these, much or many. Does it sound more natural to say 'This odds is too great,' or 'These odds are too great'? to say 'Much pains has been taken,' or 'Many pains have been taken'? The usage of different people may vary. Mathematics, physics, statics, and several similar words are plural forms taken from Greek adjectives. A century ago they were followed by a verb in the plural, and politics continues to take a verb in the plural. But, with the exception of the word politics, these nouns are now used as singular words. (4) Some nouns change their meaning in the Plural. Domino means 'a mask,' dominoes 'a game': vapour means 'steam,' vapours ill-humour': compass 'a mariner's compass,' compasses 'instruments for measuring': vesper 'evening,' vespers 'evening service': good means 'benefit,' goods means 'chattels.' 'Can you give me collective plural Die, 'a stamp,' 'cubes' used in (5) A few nouns have two forms of the Plural with different meanings, the ordinary form being plural and the anomalous form having a collective force. Pennies means separate coins, pence is collective: six pennies for this sixpence?' Brother has the brethren, meaning members of the same community. makes a plural dies, 'stamps,' and a collective dice, gambling. Cloth makes cloths, signifying different kinds or different pieces of cloth, and also clothes, the collection of one's garments. Fish has for its plural fishes: "The multitude were fed with a few fishes'; but for its collective fish: 'He brought home a large basket of fish.' The word pea has lost the s in the singular by mistake: in the French pois it is still visible. But in its reduced form it has a plural peas, 'This pod contains six peas,' and a collective pease, as in 'pease pudding.' Index and genius have different plural forms, neither of which is however collective. Indexes means 'more than one table of contents'; geniuses 'more than one person of genius.' But indices means certain 'algebraical signs,' and genii 'fabulous spirits.' (6) Some nouns have no Plural. This is because their meaning excludes the idea of plurality. We saw that abstract nouns, while they remain abstract, cannot be used in the plural. Many of these nouns do occur in the plural, but they have then ceased to be abstract and have become concrete general names. Observation alone will show us which nouns are used in this double way |