Irregular noun plurals 281 Introduction Most coumable nouns have a regular plural in -s/-es. hand hands date dales bus -+ buses For details of spe lling and pronunciation, > 276. For the plural of compound nouns, > 131 B. For the u se of plural nouns, > L31 C. Some nouns have an irregular plural. maIJ -+ mell life -+ lives slimulus -+ stirnu/i Irregular plurals ~lfe formed in a numher of different ways, for example by changing a vowel or consonant sound or by adding ,m unu sual ending. 282 Vowel and consonant changes A Vowel change.s Some plurals arc for med by cha nging the vowel so und . fOOL -+ [eel goose -+ geese man -+ men mouse mice tooth -+ [eelh womal1/'woma nl -+ women I' wlnlln l NOTE We also ll!>e me" and II lO mell In wo rd s like Frcnclmwl1 and spOrrSulOlIJl!lI. B The ending -en There is an old p lur al form -en which has survived in these two nouns. duld ItJatldl -+ children I'tStldmnl ox -+ oxen C Consonant changes With so me nuun s we changefto v and add·s "/·cs. calf -+ ca l ves half -+ halves kmfe -+ knwes life -+ lives louf -+ loaves s helf -+ s helves wife -+ wives wolf -+ wolves leaf -+ l ea ves thief -+ lhieves Some n ou ns e nding in for fe are regular, c .g. he lief 'i, chief'i, cliff s, safe s. 1\ few C<l1l h ave e ither form, e.g. sca rf -+ sc arfs/scarves. D Voicing Sorne nouns end ing in III have a regular written plural, but there are two possible prollllilcianolls. pallt,l pa:O I -> palilS Ipo:Ssl or I pa:<lzl 283 Nouns which do not change in the plural The la st two sO Llnds of paths are otten voiced. Other exampl es arc balh s, mowhs, ,r/U!-ts, and YOllfhs ( ;;; you ng peopl e) . Some plurals in lhs are regular, e.g. birlh s, deaths, months. These (Jre pronounced w ith 10s/. There is alsl) voicing in the l a5 t syllable of hou .s es. house Ihaosl -+ houses /'hauzJzl E Penny, pence, and pennies When we arc talking about an amount of money, we use pence as the plural of penny. Seventy-Jive pence, "lease. Pennies arc individual penny coins. J joulld an old lin with a lot o/pennies in it. F Person, persons, and people Person has two plurals: per,wns and peopl e. Authorized persons only may enter. nJere were lots of people Oil. the SCreets. People is more usual and less forma l. A people is a large group s li ch as a nation. The Celts were a tall, fair-skinned people . One day the peoples of this world will live in peace. 283 Nouns which do not change in the plural Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural. Singular: I heard an aircraft passmg low ollerhead. Plural: J kept hearing aircraft passing low ov erhead. These nOllns art:! aircrafl, hovercraft, ~fJacecrafl, etc; some animals, c.g. sheep, de e r, and some kinds of fish, e.g. cod, salmon . Fo r nouns ending in -s in both s ingular and plural, e. g. one means I vario lls m ea ns of transport, > 147C. Some ll(Jfionaliry words ending in -ese can be Singular or plural, e.g. one Chinese I several Chinese. 389 Irregular noun plurals 284 Irregular plural endings 390 There are a number of foreign words which have come into English, mainly from Latin and Greek, arid these have plural endings which are less commOn in English. -a lal criterion criteria curriculum curricula medium media phenomenon phenomena -ae li:1 formula ~ formulaslformulae -is ·es li:zl analysis analyses crlSlS -+ crises hypothesis -+ hypolheses oasis -+ oases synthesis syntheses -us -i lall cactus -+ cacti nucleus nuclei stimulus stimuli The plural cactuses is also possible. NOTE a Not every nOlln ending in on, urn, or us has an irregular ending. electron -+ electrons museum museums bonus bonLUeS b In informal speech, words wilh the plural ending -a atc sometimes u~ed as if tht!y were singular. r don't believe what the media is telling us. Many people would consider this to be incam . oct . c The word dala is the plural of datum, which is little used. Data is also often used as an uncountable noun. Not enough dalu iJ/are available. Users cun control how much data is sent ouer tl,e network. 285 Introduc tion Irregular verbs 285 Introduction A Regular v erbs A regular ve rb can have thes e endings: -s, -ing, and - ed. Base form: look play s- form : looks plays ing-form: looking playing Past ten se: looked played Past participle: looked played Irreg ul ar verbs An irregular verb ca n also have -s and -ing, hut we do not s imply add o ed. Ba se form: steal find s-form: steals finds ing-form: stealing finding Past tense: swle foulld Past participle: stolen found The past tense and [h e past/passi ve participle are ir regular. Past tense: Someone stole the card. Past participle: Who has stolen the card? B Look. at these examples. Regular verb: Irregular verb: I've painted the wall. I'v e written the re port. I' ve repainted th e wall. I've r ew ritten th e report. A verb form such as painted (regular) or written (irregular) is not changed by a pr efix s lich as reo, fore-, or mi s-, For exa mpl e, if tell is irregular, rhen so is foretell. ~ 286 List of irregular verbs The mor e common ve rhs are in bold type. Base form A arise/a'ra Izl awake /a'weI kl B be I bi :1 > 65 bear /bea( rl l beat I bi :tI be co me / bI'kAml Pa st tense arose l a'rauzl awoke/a 'w auk l was lwoz/ , were /W3:(r )/ bore I bJ:(r )1 beal I bi:! 1 became IbI'keIm / Pa stl pa ssi ve participle arisen la r'Iznl , awoken la ' wao kanl be en Ib i:n i borne I bJ:nl beaten I'bi:tnl become I bl'um i 391 begun Ibl'gAnl bent Iben(1 bet Ibetl bid Ibldl bidden I'bldnl bound Ibaundl bitten I'bIln I bled Ibledl blown Iblaunl broken I'broukanl bred Ibredl broughtlbrJ:tI ,(I broadcast I'brJ:dka:s built IbIlt! burnt Ib.:ntl burned Ib3:ndl burst lha:stl bust IbAstl busted l'bAstldl bought/bo :t! cast Ika:stl caught Iko:tl cbosen l'tSauznl clung IklAl)l come IkAml cost IkDSt/ crept Ikreptl cut lutl dealt 'Ide/II dug JdAgl dived Idarvdl done Idlml drawn I drJ:nl dreamt Idremt! dre~ed Idri:mdl drunk IdrAl)kl driven I'dnvnl dwelt I dweltl eaten I'l:tnl fallen I'm:l.nl fed Ifedl felt Ifeltl fought Ifni 286 List of irregular verbs , founil Ifaundl fitted l'hMI fit Ifill fled !fledl flung/llAui Down Iflour{) forbidden Ifa' bIdnl fore~ast I'fo:ka:stl forgotten Ifa'getnl forgiven Ifa'grvnl forsaken Ifa'seIlianl frozen I'frauznl got 19ot! gotten I'gotnl > Note d give" I'grvnl gone 19onl > NOle f ground I graund I gt;Own I groonl hung IhAl]1 hanged Ih"'lJdl > Note g had Ih",dl heard Ih3:dl hidden I'Judnl hit IhItl held Iheldl hurt Ih~:tl kept Ikeptl knelt' Ineit! kneeled Ini:ldl knit Imt! knitt~ I'mndl known lo,on/ laid /leIdl led Iledl leant. - /lentl leaned /li:odl leapt lIeI'll Maped lieI'll learnt 113:011 learned II"odl left /leftl lent !lentl let lIell lain lIeml ' 393 Iii'./ht/" . IJiIItCd 11ailldl ,jam /lm 1 '0 made lmeld! me8rlt '/metltl mer Imetl m~k . /mq,'P*J ~n a.1 /. ~ ' vll . :~ ~ -J ~~~ • iio!¥I i~ill fipatl ' quit I~tl quilted I'kwIlldt ~i~edi \idfudi ~I~' taiIIl mill. nJS!l imuzi far( IrllJtJJ sa~ .Is:J:dl aaId IseiJJ IBW I"",' .' Soul!tit 1!ID:tl SCiid IJalJltlf -'_II ~!&e1( seweiI '1 S<1Ui:1I il\ool(l Jpkl s/ied Iredl $hone /Sl!n1 ' sljin\ld .1 JaDwll shd t'! JPtI " ~d .J I!!UCI1 shrank IIAI!\lkl sbnmIr; Ilr,,*1. _ Illdfi '.'" · , ,.IJ/ "': ' I.tikl @IIf/flie f/ ·· slew .l slml slept Islepll slid Islldl slung Is!A1l1 slunk Is!AlIkl slit Ishtl smell Ismelll smelled lomeldl sowed lsoodl spoke Ispaukl sped Ispedl speeded I'spi:dldl spell Ispeltl spelled Ispcldl spenl Ispentl spill Ispdtl spilled Ispddl spun IspAnl spal Isprell split Isplli l spoill IspOlltl spoiled Ispodd/ spread Ispredl sprang /sPraJlIl stood Istudl otole Istaull stuck I stAkI slung 101"11 I stank I s""'lIkl strode Istroudl siruck ISlrllkl strung /strlllll strove ISlrauvl swore Iswo:(r)1 swept Iswepll swelled Isweldl swam /SWEmJ swung /swlITjI look /lukl laught 110:11 tore Ito:(r)1 told Itauldl thought 100:tl thrived 18rarvdl throve 10rauvl threw 19ru:1 rregular verbs thrust lerASt! tr cad !tred! U thru st lerASll trod I tr odl under s tand IA nd a'strendl understood IAllda'swctl up set I A p' sctl W wake !wel k! wear Iwea:{r )! weave Iw i :vl w ee p Iw i:pl wet Iwetl win Iwml wind IW3mdl withdraw !w IO 'dro:! w ring I rIl) I wrile IranI ", mE up se t I Ap 'se tl woke !w aukl wore !w J: (r)1 wove Iwaovl wept Iwe pt l wet Iwetl wetted J'wcndl won IWAnl wound Iw aundl withdrew IwtO'dru :1 wrung IrA'fj1 wrote I raut I a Co~l is regular when it means " esllmalc the cosl'. We 'ue eosted" ,h e project thru st l erAS II trodd en J' trodn l understood I A nd a'studl up se t I Ap 'se ll woken I' w au kanl worn Iwo :n! woven J'wauvnl wept !wepI! wei !wetl wetted l'we tHl1 won IWA n! wound Iwaundl withdrawn ! wIO 'dro:n! wnmg I rA'fj1 written !'rltnl b The third person singular of the Simple pr esent of do is does /dfl 7./. c Fil h usua ll y n 'g ular In Bntain but Irregular in \h~ U~ . d Collell IS lI~ed III som !.! contexts In Amc rl can f. ngh !:> h J-Ia uc ga rt e" means 'have bee. II lie' 1111: pain's goftell rI IfJt /Uorse c Th e third person 1:o inglilar of th e slIllJlle pr ese nt 01 b'l1I S goes I g3uz/. For gone to and ll eell 1 0, > 650 g We u se Iwn ged only to talk about hanging a person. h The third p er son s in gu lar of the present tense of halJc is h as /hanl . Lay ( pil st tense la id) me:1ll1:o 'put so meth mg so mewhere'. T}u'Y laid t he plans all Ow dilling - roo m ruble Ue (pa st tcnse lay) mcans 'he horizontal' or 'be in a certalll place '. 1'lwy la y in bed half tile mornilJg. /. 11.' Int!aning 'tell an untru th' is reguhtr He lied 10 til e pol I ce about I us mOlJeme lJlS. I The third pers on s.ing li lar of the pn!scnt tense of say .S . <;{IYS Isp z/ k SIIined usually m ea ns 'polis hl.'d '. We say r ue sl 'i ned my shoes, hUI 111e sun shone. S ped ll sua ll y ex pr csses movement. rile drilJCr jllmpl:d in tile enr and s ped off. But we say s peedj~ Ill' (= went faMer) Ollce 0 11 rIle m()f o ru K ~ y. we soon sl>et.oded IIp . III Alt erna ti ve form 1:o such us burned l bumr and teamed /h a nll :arc both pos sible In Bnu ~ h English. But the Irregular forms such as I}/Imi and h: oml arc l ess usual in Amcnca. 287 SpeGal participle forms 287 Special participle forms Compare these sentences. Have + participle: A ship had sunk off lhe coast a century before. Participle + noun: We heard stories of sunken ships and hidden treasure. Sink has a past participle sunk, which is used to form perfect tenses (had sunk). It also ha s a special form sunken that is mostly lJsed before a noun (a sunken ship, a sunken garden) or to talk about a person's appearance. He ht«1 sunken eyes.! His eyes were sunken. Here are some more examples of verbs which have two different participle forms. bless Fortunately the event was blessed with good weather. I blestl When the rain came, it was a blessed relief l'b leSIdl drink The men had drunk too much. There was a drunken argument. learn I've learned something useful from the lecture. /I3:mll The king loved the co mpany of wise and learned men 1'I3:mdl melt The ice had melted. The molten meUli is poured into a mould. prove The technology has proved to he reliabl e. We are using proven technology. I'pr;)uv,ml or !'pru:vanl 397 [...]... Ictal for I fair) I me Imil must Imastl or Imasl not Inti of lavl or Ivl shall IIall or IIII she I Iii should IIodl or IIdl sume Isaml or Ism!> ]72D Ihan 100 ni that IOatl > Note the 100 1 or loil > lSI them l(Jaml or laml Ihere 10a(r)1 > 35A Note 10 ltol or Itol was Iwazl we Iwi! were IWOl(r)1 will /II would Iwad/, lodl, or Idl you Ijvl or I ja (r)1 your Ija(r) I from Iframl had Ihadl, ladl, or Idl... nOl.) as correction I DC U ordered teu nnl coffee.) with expressions of qllUnthy 10C (not mally/mud, ) in main clause or nuun t:iuuse? 253A Note U do n ', ,lIi'lk that 's true.) negative s tatements 10 -+ negative prcfix 10C: Note a replacing clauses 28 (011, I IlOpe not.) not only , but also 233P NOTE S'IYU! 300 nothing 1 110 noilling like 215G Note a NOUN ClAUSES· 252-257 after adject ive 256A (II's... verb tenses 262 verbs of rcporung 259-2C;0 INF INITIVE CLA USES · 98 relatlvc dauscs 275 (til(: first to amlJ{."] INFINITIVE. . sume Isaml or Ism!> ]72D Ihan 100 ni that IOatl > Note the 100 1 or loil > lSI them l(Jaml or laml Ihere 10a(r)1 > 35A Note 10 ltol or Itol was Iwazl we Iwi!. Isweldl swam /SWEmJ swung /swlITjI look /lukl laught 110: 11 tore Ito:(r)1 told Itauldl thought 100 :tl thrived 18rarvdl throve 10rauvl threw 19ru:1 rregular verbs thrust lerASt!. swim, we must hurry. bare infini tive an infinitive without 10, e.g. I might go out, rhey made us wail . 110 ba se form The base form of a verb is the form without an