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    Learn English > English lessons and exercises > English test #110950: Unusual Plurals
    > Other English exercises on the same topic: Plural [Change theme]
    > Similar tests: - Plural - Plural forms - Countable or Uncountable? - Plural of words - Verb-singular or plural? - Plural - Plural of nouns - Plural: Nouns ending in -ff, -f, -fe
    > Double-click on words you don't understand


    Unusual Plurals


     

     

    Scientific  and  technical  essays  use  lots of  nouns derived from Greek and Latin :

    Datum/data

    Medium/media

    Basis/bases

    Crisis/crises

    Matrix/ matrices

    Phenomenon/phenomena

    Criterion  /  criteria

    Nowadays ,however,  it  is  not  uncommon to   meet  anglicised  plurals  but ,to be on a safer ground, it is  better  to stick to the traditional form.

     In nouns  followed by a preposition or a  verb,  the noun turns into the plural:

    Lady-in-waiting/ladies-in-waiting

    Wife-to-be   / wives-to-be

    Brother-in.law/ brothers-in-law

     Nouns  coming  from  ancient  German dialects have irregular  forms:

    Ox/oxen

    Child/children

    Foot/ feet

    Die /dice

    Louse/lice

    Woman/ women

    Man/ men

    Those imported from other languages  are very few and  can  be easily  memorised .

    Beau/beaux

    Cul de sac / culs de sac 

    Graffito/ graffiti





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    English exercise "Unusual Plurals" created by carlabice47 with The test builder. [More lessons & exercises from carlabice47]
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    1. There were some quietly grazing the grass . (ox)

    2. Elisabeth I had many coming from ancient, noble families . (lady-in-waiting)

    3. The water cycle manifests itself through various , such as clouds, rain, hail and snow. (phenomenon)

    4. Mass can destroy or exalt famous people in less than no time .(medium)

    5. The ' Stratagem is a famous comedy by G. Farquhar . (Beau)

    6. What want is a brilliant comedy with Mel Gibson and Marisa Tomei . (woman)

    7. Here are the concerning the last 24 months' sales . (datum)

    8. American is a 1973 cult movie directed by George Lucas . (graffito)

    9. After a long disease, Philip is finally on his again. (foot)

    10. Sean has two who both work at Harvard University . (brother-in-law)










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