Give me some plurals

Hello there! 
I'm preparing some students to pass their public exams for them to become teachers of English and right now one of my tasks is to explain the topic of the expression of quantity to them. Within the contents of this theme, we find plurals and although plurals in English are not particularly troublesome, there are some irregular plurals that will make you sweat (fortunately, most of them are not widely used). This is why I devoted this entry to another English quirk, plurals and, more precisely, irregular plurals. Let's just get started:

Regular plurals

·     In English, plural is inflected by adding –s to a given noun. Adjectives do not have plural form in English

One cat à Two cats

However, there are some spelling variants and exceptions to this rule.

a) After sibilant consonants, -es is added. Sibilant consonants are represented by the spellings : <s>, <ss>, <z>, <x>, <sh>, <ch>

Gasà gases

Glassàglasses

Buzz à buzzes

Boxà Boxes

Watch à Watches

Dish à dishes

b) After nouns ending in –o, normally –es is added. However, there are some exceptions.

Potatoà Potatoes

Tomato à Tomatoes

Volcanoà Volcanoes

*Radio à Radios

*Piano à Pianos

* Buffalo à Buffalos / Buffaloes

c) After nouns ending in –f/-fe, the f is changed into v, and then –es is added (if it doesn’t already finish in –e). There are some exceptions:

Knife à Knives

Leaf à Leaves

*Dwarfà Dwarves / dwarfs

* Belief à Beliefs

*Roof à Roofs

d) When a verb finishes in –y preceded by a consonant, the <y> is changed into <i> and then –es is added

Studyàstudies

Fly à flies

* If the –y is preceded by a vowel, it doesn’t change and only –s is added

Boy à Boys

e) The final consonant is doubled in a few plurals

Quiz à quizzes

Irregular plurals

 

a) Plurals formed by mutation

Tooth à teeth

Foot à feet

Goose à geese

Man à men

Woman à women

Dormouse à dormice

Mouse à mice

Louse à lice

Die à dice

Penny à pence

Person à people

b) The –en plural from Old English

Brother à brethren

Child à children

Ox à oxen

c) Zero plurals

Fish à fish

Trout à trout

Sheep à sheep

Salmon à salmon

Cod à cod

Deer à deer

Reindeer à reindeer

Aircraft à aircraft

Means à means

News à news

Series à series

*Words ending in –ics

Aerobics à aerobics

Irregular plurals from other languages

Loanwords have left their print on the English language.

a) Latin

- Masculines finished in –us make the plural in –i :Alumnus à alumni; fungus à fungi;  stimulus à stimuli

- Feminines finished in –a make the plural in –ae : Alumna à alumnae; antennaà antennae; algaà algae;

- Neutral nouns finished in –um make the plural in –a : Curriculum à curricula; conundrum à conundra; medium à media

- Neutral nouns finished in –us make the plural in –ora : Corpus à Corpora; genusà genera

- Nouns finished in –ex make the  plural in –ices : Indexà indices; matrix—Z matrices

*Sometimes, there are two variants: mediums (the person who speaks to the spirits); media (the press and other means of communication); indexes/ indices; matrixes/matrices.

b) Greek

- Words finished in –is make the plural in –es: hypothesis à hypotheses; thesisà theses; crisisà crises

- Neutral words finished in –on make the plural in –a : Criterionà criteria; phenomenon à phenomena

- Other irregular plurals from Greek: Enigma à enigmas / enigmata

                                                              Schema à schemas / schemata

c) French

- Words finished in –s are invariable:  pas à pas; corps à corps

- Some words finished in –au make the plural with x: plateau à plateau; beauà beaux. Sometimes is not quite clear: bureaus / bureaux

d) Italian

- Some words ending in –o make the plural in –i : tempoà tempi;   libretto à libretti (librettos), with some exceptions : piano à pianos

e) Hebrew

- Some words are pluralized by adding –im: kibbutz à kibbutzim

Well, you can't deny that plurals in English are, at least, interesting, don't you think?
See you around

The verb 'pay': much more than using your money in English.

From : https://www.esldirectory.com/blog/learning-english/pays-off-pay-off-take-payoff-pay-off-loans-phrasal-verb-confusion/

Howdy !

We're in mid-September and the summer season is about to come to an end. Anyway, to mitigate my melancholic feelings, I've decided to write an entry about an interesting verb English : the verb 'pay', so please PAY attention.  

1. Pay = give money in exchange of goods

When we think of the verb 'pay', this is the first meaning that comes to our minds. However, we need to take into account that, unlike in Spanish, this verb needs the preposition 'for' in English. Thus you pay for a service, for electricity, for food,... Pay food.

When we include the person, the preposition is not necessary. It is only necessary when we mention the service. You can say : 'I have to pay my mother the money I owe her.' 

Do you understand ? It's not so complicated, is it ? Anyway, I'll explain it even further by showing two sentences : 

a) I have a party and I have to pay for a waiter.

b) I have to pay the waiter for the catering service. 

In a) the waiter is the service. In b), the waiter is the person, and the catering is the service. 

2. Metaphorical uses of 'pay'

The meaning of 'pay' goes beyond using money. Like in Spanish you can use it metaphorically to indicate that you are putting something important at stake. 

- Pay the price /pay the consequences of your actions

- You caused me a lot of problems and I will pay you back / I will repay you / You will pay. 

- Working as a teacher at a language school pays off (=is worth doing it)

3. Expressions with pay

However, in English the verb 'pay' is much more complex than in Spanish. Thus, you can use it in a great deal of usual expressions. You can pay with more things than money in English. 

- Pay attention / pay heed to... (formal)

- Pay a visit to someone

- Pay my respects to someone after a sudden loss.

- Pay my duties at work.

- Pay someone a call

- Pay a compliment to someone

- Pay tribute to an artist / pay homage to an important person.

4. Idioms with 'pay'

Apart from the examples in number 2, 'pay' is the main star of loads of idiomatic expressions. 

From : https://es.pinterest.com/pin/555561304010292431/?lp=true

- Pay through the nose : When you pay for an item much more than what is worth it. 

- Pay peanuts : When you pay for an item much less than what is worth it. 

- If you pay peanuts you get monkeys : That means that price is not the most important thing and when you pay incredibly low prices for something it is usually a low-quality product (=lo barato sale caro)

From : https://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/if-you-pay-peanuts-you-get-monkeys/

- Pay the piper / pay the fiddler= Accept the unpleasant consequences of one's actions. I didn't want to work in the morning, and now I have to pay the piper and work at the weekend. 

- Pay the freight = Pay for something that is not pleasant. The state has to pay the freight for cleaning the streets after the city's festivities. 

- Hit pay dirt = Finding something incredibly useful after a long search. I couldn't find any good restaurants around until I hit pay dirt and I found and incredibly good restaurant very near ! 

Well, as you can see, English gives far more importance to 'pay' than Spanish and it is interesting to see how they commonly use this verb in tons of expressions. 

P.S. If you are interested in deeply knowing some other English verbs, click on the links provided : the verb 'get'; the verb 'have'; the verb 'go' 

Let's discover the verb 'go'

From : http://www.shraddhaenglish.com/irregular-verb-go/

Long time not see. Well, don't blame me. I've been on holidays and preparing wedding arrangements. Anyway, today I've decided to write an entry on one of the first verbs you got to know when you started learning English, the verb 'go'. I previously wrote entries on the verb 'have' and the verb 'get', so now it's go's turn ! Even though you may think that 'go' is an easy verb, it may as well turn out to be more complex than you can think. Let's begin !

1. 'Go' as a verb of direction 

This is probably one of the first basic things when you learn English. 'Go' is a verb of direction that usually takes the preposition 'to'. 'I usually go to the beach in summer.' However, there are some exceptions where the preposition 'to' is not needed : 'go home' / 'go somewhere' / 'go anywhere' / 'go everywhere'.

The verb go can take other prepositions of direction such as 'into', 'towards', 'around', 'up', 'down' ... 

2. Go + -ing to indicate physical activity

There are hundreds and hundreds of examples involving 'go' + ing for physical activities. In this case, the preposition 'to' is not needed either. I have divided the expressions into sports (most of them involve water or are extreme sports) and leisure activities. 

From : http://www.trainer.ae/articles/4-reasons-to-go-jogging-in-the-morning-5187

a) Sports :

Go swimming
Go skiing
Go skateboarding
Go rollerblading
Go ice skating
Go fishing
Go surfing
Go parachuting 
Go snowboarding
Go bungee jumping
Go jogging
Go trekking 
Go hiking
Go running
Go scuba diving
Go cycling
Go mountain climbing
Go rafting
Go snorkelling
Go paragliding
Go mountainbiking
Go canoeing
Go rowing 
Go sailing
Go kiteboarding

b) Leisure activities
Go shopping
Go window shopping
Go hunting
Go dancing
Go camping
Go sightseeing
Go bowling

3. Go for a +noun
This is a typically English construction not existing in Spanish. It is similar to the previous go +-ing, only this time the structure requires 'go for a' + a noun derived from a verb. There are a lot of examples :
Go for a drink
Go for a ride = go cycling
Go for a swim = go swimming
Go for a jog = go jogging
Go for a run = go running
Go for a drive 
Go for a hike = Go hiking
Go for a walk
Go for a stroll 
Go for a pizza / coffee / soda /snack...

4. Be going to + infinitive 

Future time is complex in English and there are various ways of expressing it, including 'will' and other modal verbs. One of the ways to express future in English is the structure 'be going to + infinitive'. That means the verb 'go' is conjugated in the present continuous and then a full infinitive (with 'to') is added. This structure can be used to talk about :

a) Fixed plans and arrangements : 'I'm going to get married in October' (or I'm getting married in October) / 'My sister is going to have her baby in August (or 'my sister is having her baby in August'). 

b) Predictions based on certain evidence : 'The sky is dark. It's going to rain.' / 'Be careful, that glass is going to fall to the ground !'

c) Intentions : 'I'm going to study and I'm going to pass all my exams.' (with 'be going to' you are being positive. It shows determination, willingness and commitment).

5. go and + infinitive 

This is another typical English construction. In English this structure is, in my humble opinion, far more common than go + to infinitive. Have a look at these examples : 

(1) 'If you want some food you can go and get it' / *If you want some food you can go to get it. 

(2) After some time, I decided to go and talk to her / I decided to go to talk to her. 

As you can see, the structure 'go and' sounds more English and is always correct. This structure is a clear indicator that you are progressing in your English  and that you are thinking in English and not in Spanish. However, the structure go + to + infinitive is used to indicate purpose and sounds odd in the first examples. It is more of a Spanish-like construction.

6. Phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs

This is getting more and more complicated. Now we get into the troublesome are of phrasal and prepositional verbs, which happen to be a total nightmare for most students of mine ! You take a certain verb and then add a preposition or adverb and the meaning of the verb normally changes this verb. Don't panic ! Phrasal verbs with 'go' are not the toughest ones, so let's get to discover some of the phrasal verbs with 'go'.

- Go out = This has three possible meanings. The first one is quite obvious, it means 'exit'. 'I went out of my house to breathe some fresh air.' The second meaning is related to romantic interest. If you go out with someone, it means you are dating someone. 'I'm going out with Jenny this afternoon.' Last but not least, the final and most uncommon meaning of 'go out' is extinguish and is usually linked to fire. The fire went out after some time. 

- Go away = This verb has two meanings. The first one is a synonym for 'leave' in informal English. 'He packed his things and went away'. The second one is similar but in involves 'going on a trip.' 'He went away for the weekend.'

- Go on = It means 'continue' and is a synonym for 'keep on' and 'proceed with'. 'He was tired but he went on swimming in spite of that.' 'Go on' is followed by -ing when you continue doing the same activity (like in the previous example) and is followed by 'to infinitive' when you start a new activity, for instance, 'after explaining the consequences of climate change, he went on to speak about the possible solutions for that.' 

- Go off = It is a synonym for 'activate'. A bomb can go off, but also an alarm clock ! But surprisingly it is also s synonym for 'break down' or 'stop' : 'The generator went off after the storm.'

From : https://stephanienoble.com/category/body-clock/

- Go by = This verb is related to time and it means 'pass', e.g. 'Two days went by and I didn't get an answer' (=two days passed).

- Go over something = Revise. You should go over your themes for the exam ! 

-Go back = Return. 'I have to go back home. It's very late !'

- Go up / Go down = Increase / decrease. Prices always go up and never go down.'

7. Go on a + noun 

That's yet another typical construction similar to 'go for a' It's pointless trying to translate from your language. Instead, you need to think in English to understand this construction and see how it collocates. Examples of this constructions are :

- Go on a diet

- Go on holiday 

- Go on vacation

- Go on a date 

- Go on a trip / journey

- Go on a binge alcohol

- Go on a killing spree

This structure is used when you are going to do an activity that is going to take some time and it somehow involves your commitment and willingness to do it. 

8. Go + adjective

This is a really complex structure in English ! The use of 'go' + adjectives indicates the result. It normally refers to a negative outcome and it indicates the result of an action and is close to the verb 'become'.

-The child went missing on Sunday (=disappeared). 

- His generosity always goes unnoticed 

- The girl went berserk/crazy when she heard the news.

- Everything went wrong. 

As you can see the verb 'go' is extremely important in English. To fully understand this verb, you have to stop translating from your mother tongue and start thinking in English or how the English speakers conceive their own language. I hope you have liked my post. Please, post a comment with your thoughts !

See you next week !