What are the plural forms of words.
Word Type | Example in the Singular Form | Example in the Plural Form |
---|---|---|
Noun | ||
Determiner | ||
Pronoun | ||
Verb | trying | trying |
Pronoun | Name |
---|---|
I | first person singular |
You | second person singular |
He / She / It | third person singular |
We | first person plural |
You | second person plural |
They | third person plural |
Pronoun | Name | Example Verb | Example Verb | Example Verb |
---|---|---|---|---|
I | first person singular | I ate | I eat | I will eat |
You | second person singular | You ate | You eat | You will eat |
He / She / It | third person singular | He ate | He eats | He will eat |
We | first person plural | We ate | We eat | We will eat |
You | second person plural | You ate | You eat | You will eat |
They | third person plural | They ate | They eat | They will eat |
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Q. In “People in chef’s coats were being shepherded from room to room,” should it be written as “chef’s coats,” “chefs coats,” or “chefs’ coats”? I’m guessing that it’s the former, since it is a single, standardized coat that all the chefs are wearing, but I’m not sure.
A. You are correct: the plural of “chef’s coat” is “chef’s coats.” There are a bunch of nouns like that one. For example,
batter’s box ( sing. ), batter’s boxes ( pl. )
buyer’s or seller’s market ( sing. ), buyer’s or seller’s markets ( pl. )
lady’s slipper ( sing. ), lady’s slippers ( pl. )
teacher’s pet ( sing. ), teacher’s pets ( pl. )
So, for example, you might refer to a teacher’s pet in one classroom or to several teacher’s pets in one or more classrooms.
But if, instead of model students, you were referring to two or more teachers and their cats or dogs (or other such animals), you’d write “teachers’ pets” (note the placement of the apostrophe).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. What is the plural of “Mercedes”? For example: “The armored Mercedes’ of the oligarchs sped through the streets of Moscow.” “Mercedeses” sounds clunky, but does the final apostrophe adequately convey the plural?
A. An apostrophe can sometimes signal a plural, but it does that only in combination with an s (e.g., three x’s ). Mercedes’ doesn’t read as plural.
And though a proper name ending in a pronounced s normally forms the plural by adding es —for example, a family with the surname Jones would be known as the Joneses—we wouldn’t recommend that approach in this case.
A written invitation to lunch at “The Mercedeses” might be strictly correct (for the surname Mercedes), but as you suggest, that would be awkward to pronounce (and just as difficult to read). For the car, allow Mercedes to do double duty as both singular and plural.
One caveat: Unless context makes it clear that Mercedes is being used as a plural, you may have to clarify—for example, by adding a collective noun: The oligarchs’ armored fleet of Mercedes sped through the streets of Moscow.
Q. I’m dealing with a quote within a quote. In fiction, a character in dialogue says something like, “You’re using a whole lot of ‘we’s’ here.” The “we” is supposed to be plural. How can this be punctuated properly? Or another case of the same situation, but in narrative text: A chorus of “got it”s, “yeah”s and way too enthusiastic “woo”s followed.
A. Often you can form the plural of a word used as a word simply by adding an s . That would work for your last set of examples:
A chorus of “got its,” “yeahs,” and way too enthusiastic “woos” followed.
But it works less well for “we” (mostly because “wes” looks too much like the name Wes). For that plural, either rephrase or use an apostrophe (as you’ve done in your question):
“You’re using ‘we’ a whole lot here.”
“You’re using a whole lot of ‘we’s’ here.”
Though apostrophes normally signal possession or contraction, they’re also good at clarifying the occasional plural that might otherwise be hard to read (as with letters: e.g., two w ’s). Another option would be to use italics instead of quotation marks. But don’t put the s in italics (see CMOS 7.12 )—and keep the apostrophe in we ’s:
A chorus of got it s, yeah s, and way too enthusiastic woo s followed.
“You’re using a whole lot of we ’s here.”
Switching to regular text for the s is analogous to putting the “s” after a closing quotation mark—as in “yeah”s. But “yeah”s is typographically awkward. Some styles allow it, so it’s a legitimate choice, but Chicago prefers the alternatives shown above (see also CMOS 7.13 ).
Q. In the following sentence, should the word “point” be singular or plural? “The type should be no larger than 11 point.”
A. It should be “points,” plural, but it would become singular “point” if used as a modifier:
the type is 11 points but 11-point type
All this changes if you use an abbreviation:
the type is 11 pt. and 11 pt. type
Not only is “pt.” preferred for both singular and plural, but “11 pt. type” has no hyphen. For the first convention, see CMOS 10.65 . For the second, see the hyphenation guide at CMOS 7.89 , section 1, “number + abbreviation.”
Q. What is the plural of a last name ending in a silent x ? I just read an article using “the Robidouxes” and wondered if it should be “the Robidouxs” or “the Robidoux.” Thank you for your response.
A. See CMOS 7.11 : “Names ending in an unpronounced s or x are best left in singular form.” Examples include “the seventeen Louis of France” and “The class included three Margaux.” So we would recommend the spelling “Robidoux” for both the singular and the plural. If for any reason you were to depart from Chicago and add an s for the plural, then either an es (as in the article you read) or an s —applied consistently—could work for names ending in x but not s ( ss may not read as plural). If the final x or s is pronounced, an es would be required (e.g., “two Felixes”).
Q. I was asked how to refer to more than one of a specific numbered form. For example, do you say “IRS Form 1040s” or “IRS Forms 1040”?
A. That depends. To refer to more than one copy of a form, add an s to the number—as in “three Form 1040s” or “five Form 1040-NRs.” To refer to two different forms, use plural “Forms”—as in “IRS Forms 1040 and 1040-NR.” The phrase “IRS Forms 1040” by itself would refer to multiple iterations of Form 1040 (e.g., Forms 1040, 1040-NR, and 1040-SR).
Q. How should the symbols N 2 and O 2 be pluralized in Chicago style? N 2 ’s and O 2 ’s or italicized symbols with no apostrophes?
A. To channel Bartleby (Melville’s fictional nineteenth-century scrivener): we prefer not to write chemical formulas as plurals; nor would we apply italics (as we would for ordinary letters as letters; see CMOS 7.64 ). We’d advise rewording instead (e.g., “two N 2 molecules”). But if you absolutely must express a molecule as a plural, an apostrophe will help make it clear that the s isn’t part of the formula. It may not be precisely Chicago style, but readers will know what you mean—which is the goal of all good editing.
Q. How do you pluralize given names such as in brand names? For example, I was editing a book where a person received a gift of a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. Another character exclaimed, “You could miss my birthday too if it means a pair of Jimmys.” An apostrophe is not quite right since it is not possessive. And using the “ie” form of plural with a “y” would look odd IMO. What’s the best way to handle it?
A. The plural form of a name is normally formed by adding either “s” or “es” (no apostrophe), so we would recommend “Jimmys.” See CMOS 7.9 , which includes “Harrys” among its examples.
But considering the subject, you’d be wise also to consider the usage in Lauren Weisberger’s best-selling The Devil Wears Prada (New York: Broadway Books, 2004):
“Jeffy, bring me a pair of Jimmy’s in a size . . .” (p. 104; ellipsis in original)
Some stylebooks recommend an apostrophe for certain plurals—for example, to join an “s” to a number or an abbreviation (as in “1900’s” or “BA’s”). And for brand names, we’re all more or less familiar with possessive stand-alone forms like Ben & Jerry’s. So “Jimmy’s” is a reasonable choice.
But aside from this one instance in Weisberger’s otherwise influential book, we find no convincing evidence for such a preference. Elsewhere in the book, the shoes are referred to as “Jimmy Choos” (no apostrophe; see pp. 6 and 52), and that seems to be the most common usage IRL.
Q. I am working with an author who insists on referring to a photo that was taken in a certain decade as “this 1950’s photo.” Is the apostrophe needed, and is it in the correct place?
A. Chicago style is “1950s,” but the apostrophized style as you show it is accepted by some publishers.
Q. How would you handle the plural of a term of art like “artist’s proof,” which itself contains a possessive as the first word, when referring to proofs of multiple artists? It seems clear that we would say “artist’s proofs by the engraver Combet” to refer to several proofs by the single engraver Combet. I think we would also say “artist’s proofs by the two engravers Combet and Haley” (referring to several proofs by each engraver), because we are using the plural of the term of art or unit “artist’s proof,” which is shorthand for “a proof of an engraving by an artist.” Stated differently, adding an “s” to proofs is sufficient to make the term of art “artist’s proofs” plural, and we don’t need to use the plural of the first term as well when two different engravers are involved, since we are still just referring to multiple examples of the term of art “artist’s proof.” We should distinguish this case from the use of “artist” as a normal possessive and not as part of a term of art, in which case we would need to use the plural of the possessive (artists’) when referring to proofs by several artists, but I don’t think we would say “artists’ proofs by the two engravers Combet and Haley” when using “artist’s proofs” as a term of art. If we decide that the possessive of “artist” is singular in the case of multiple proofs by a single engraver and plural in the case of multiple engravers, we are still left with the unclear case when the number of engravers is not specified, i.e., when just using the term “artist’s proofs.” An analogous situation might arise with a term like “baker’s dozen” but not with normal possessives like “manufacturers’ coupons.”
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It is generally courtesy to use the plural 'we' or 'our' in papers, even when the primary author was the only contributor. While using personal pronouns in academic papers is typically a very bad idea, I have seen them being used in theses. What gives? Technically a PhD thesis is only meant to be the candidate's work, but if this work features previously published work surely you'd expect to same rules to apply to the thesis as applied to the academic papers?
So in terms of professional appearance and etiquette what is the (typically) correct approach? Should personal pronouns be used in a thesis?
I used “we” (except for the acknowledgements). It’s what I’m used to when reading academic writing. Anything else wold seem weird to me.
Although the primary reason was that It was a stapler thesis and that is what the papers I was copying from used. It would have been too much effort to change it.
Customs may vary by field and country. The best thing to do is look at a few theses coming from your department and copy their style.
Definition of thesis noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
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"Theses" is the only way to make the noun "thesis" plural. Confusion arises because some mistakenly believe that all nouns ending in "s" should form a plural that adds "es" to the end of the word. When a noun ends with "is," you need to replace the "is" with an "es" to form the plural. This is because its plural form derives from Greek.
Thesis becomes theses in plural form for two reasons: 1) The word thesis has a Greek root, and theses is how it is pluralized in that original language. 2) There are many English words ending with -is that take on -es endings when pluralized: e.g., crisis becomes crises. The pluralization isn't all that unique.
Thesis, which means "proposition", and derives from Greek, is a singular noun. The plural of thesis is theses. Started Grammarflex (ing) in 2022—been a word nerd and writing enthusiast ever since. (BA, MA in phil).
The plural of "thesis" adheres to the Greek-rooted pattern, changing the singular -is to a plural -es. Accurate use of "thesis" and "theses" reflects scholarly precision in both written and oral communication. Awareness of correct pluralization extends to other similar nouns ending in -sis, emphasizing the importance of understanding language origins.
What is a dissertation vs. a thesis? In American English, a dissertation is a research paper that's required to earn a doctorate degree, while a thesis is a research paper required to earn a master's degree. Dissertations and theses (the plural of thesis) are often mixed up because they're both lengthy research papers written for higher education, especially as part of a master's or ...
The meaning of THESIS is a dissertation embodying results of original research and especially substantiating a specific view; especially : one written by a candidate for an academic degree. ... college, or graduate school, students often have to write a thesis on a topic in their major field of study. In many fields, a final thesis is the ...
Plural vs. singular. Because a phrase ending in "et al." refers to a group of people, you need to use a plural verb when the "et al." phrase is the subject. Smith et al. (2015) states that … Smith et al. (2015) state that … Punctuation "Et al." is written as two words, with the "al" always followed by a period.
Thesis is a scholarly document that presents a student's original research and findings on a particular topic or question. It is usually written as a requirement for a graduate degree program and is intended to demonstrate the student's mastery of the subject matter and their ability to conduct independent research.
An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.; An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.; An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an ...
14. I am going to do an oral presentation for my thesis. Normally, when presenting a paper, as the paper is a collaboration work, I always use the pronoun "we". The thesis is written based on the papers. However, when presenting (for example, when talking about the contributions of the thesis), I feel using "we" a bit odd.
Step 2: Write your initial answer. After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process. The internet has had more of a positive than a negative effect on education.
In most contexts, the word data refers to specific numerical results and should therefore be treated as a plural count noun, with a corresponding plural verb form. The patient data are sorted in Table 1. Data were collected retrospectively from patient medical records. However, this rule is not strict; it depends on the scientific context.
5.4.4 Both, Either, Neither, Nor and Only. Certain other words, phrases and constructions can cause particular problems when constructing sentences, especially for authors whose native language is not English. 'Both' takes a plural verb (e.g., 'both a pool and a water slide were added to the playground'), whereas 'either' and ...
thesis (plural theses) ( rhetoric) A proposition or statement supported by arguments. (by extension) A lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis (sense 1.1), especially one submitted in order to complete the requirements for a non- doctoral degree in the US and a doctoral degree in the UK; a dissertation .
A thesis (plural: 'theses') is a document written in support of an idea that is presented for discussion or disputation.In modern usage it usually refers to a document presented as a requirement for an academic degree or professional qualification. It presents the author's research and findings. [1] In the academic context it means the same as dissertation.
Forming the Plurals of Nouns In most cases, a noun will form its plural by adding "s" to the singular form. For example: 1 dog > 2 dogs; 1 house > 2 houses; 1 video > 2 videos; The spelling rules for forming the plurals of nouns (e.g., whether to add "s," "es," or "ies") usually depend on how the noun ends.
7 meanings: 1. a dissertation resulting from original research, esp when submitted by a candidate for a degree or diploma 2. a.... Click for more definitions.
The document discusses how to correctly form the plural of the word "thesis". There are three main methods: 1) Add "-es" to form "theses", 2) Maintain the "-is" ending and add "-es" to become "thesises", or 3) Use the irregular plural form "thesises". Writing a thesis poses many challenges for students, from extensive research to adhering to formatting guidelines. Many students seek ...
Find it. Write it. Cite it. The Chicago Manual of Style Online is the venerable, time-tested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. ¶ It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice. ¶ Over 1.75 million copies sold!
0. Closed 5 years ago. It is generally courtesy to use the plural 'we' or 'our' in papers, even when the primary author was the only contributor. While using personal pronouns in academic papers is typically a very bad idea, I have seen them being used in theses.
Collocations Scientific research Scientific research Theory. formulate/ advance a theory/ hypothesis; build/ construct/ create/ develop a simple/ theoretical/ mathematical model; develop/ establish/ provide/ use a theoretical/ conceptual framework; advance/ argue/ develop the thesis that…; explore an idea/ a concept/ a hypothesis; make a prediction/ an inference
The document discusses the challenges of writing a thesis and provides assistance resources. It notes that crafting a thesis requires extensive research, analysis, and writing and can feel overwhelming. It also clarifies that the correct plural form of "thesis" is "theses". The document promotes a writing assistance service that can help students navigate the complexities of thesis writing and ...