The plural forms of most English nouns are made by adding –s to the singular form. “Forms” and “nouns” from the previous sentence are perfect examples. However, many commonly-used English nouns have irregular plural forms. In the previous lesson, we looked at native English words that follow alternate pluralization rules. This time, we’ll turn our attention to words with foreign origins that have retained their plural forms from their original languages.

 

Plural Forms of Words of Latin Origin

Many modern English words have been borrowed from Latin. Most of these loanwords can be made plural by following either Latin or English pluralization rules:

 

Singular	Latin Plural	English Plural
appendix	appendices	appendixes
curriculum	curricula	curriculums
formula	formulae	formulas
index	indices	indexes
millennium	millennia	millenniums
referendum	referenda	referendums
syllabus	syllabi	syllabuses
terminus	termini	terminuses
thesaurus	thesauri	thesauruses
vortex	vortices	vortexes

 

A handful of specialized academic, scientific, and technical terms follow Latin pluralization rules only. These include:

 

Singular	Latin Plural
alga	algae
alumnus, alumna	alumni
larva	larvae

 

 

Plural forms of Words of Greek Origin

Greek loanwords drop it the –is from the singular and add –es to form the plural:

 

Singular	Plural
analysis	analyses
crisis	crises
neurosis	neuroses

 

 

French Loanwords

Words of French origin than end in –eau can usually take either the French ­–x or the English –s:

 

Singular	French Plural	English Plural
bureau	bureaux	bureaus
chateau	chateaux	Chateaus
flambeau	flambeaux	flambeaus
gateau	gateaux	gateaus
plateau	plateaux	plateaus
portmanteau	portmanteaux	portmanteaus
tableau	tableaux	tableaus
trousseau	trousseaux	trousseaus

 

 

Italian Loanwords

With a handful of exceptions, words that have come to English from Italian discard their Italian plurals in favor of English plurals:

 

Singular	English Plural	Italian Plural
espressos	espressos	espresso
fresco	fresco(e)s	freschi
pizza	pizzas	pizze

 

Notes: Some Italian loanwords, such as spaghetti, are derived from the plural forms. Ironically, these words are usually used singularly in English.

 

The singular paparazzo and plural paparazzi have survived the transition to English intact. These words refer to freelance photographers who chase after celebrities to obtain pictures of them, often without the celebrities’ consent.