Unit 2: Grammar and Usage

Foreign Nouns and Their Plurals

Some nouns have been taken from foreign languages and are used in English in their original form. Most of these nouns keep their foreign plurals. Sometimes these nouns also have English plurals.

1. Foreign nouns ending in is, the is is tobe changed to es, to form the plural.

Examples : basis ( bases ); crisis ( crises ); thesis ( theses ); axis ( axes );

   parenthesis ( parentheses)

2. Foreign nouns ending in um, the um should be changed to an a.

Examples :  gymnasium ( gymnasia or gymnasiums ); bacterium ( bacteria );

    addendum ( addenda ); medium ( media or mediums );

    memorandum ( memoranda or memorandums )

3. Foreign nouns ending in us, the us should be changed to i.

Examples :    alumnus ( alumni ); prospectus ( prospecti or prospectuses ); stimulus ( stimuli )

4. Foreign noungs ending in a, the a should be changed to ae.

Examples :    alumna ( alumnae ); formula ( formulae or formulas )

5. Foreign nouns ending in on, we should change the on to a.

Examples :    criterion ( criteria or criterions ); phenomenon ( phenomena )