Note. German, Mussulman, Ottoman, dragoman, firman, and talisman, which are not compounds of man, form their plurals regularly: as,—Germans, Mussulmans. Norman also forms its plural in s.
76. A few nouns have the same form in both singular and plural.
Examples:
- deer,
- sheep,
- heathen,
- Japanese,
- Portuguese,
- Iroquois.
Note. This class was larger in older English than at present. It included, for example, year, which in Shakspere has two plurals:—“six thousand years,” “twelve year since.”
77. A few nouns have two plurals, but usually with some difference in meaning.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| brother | brothers (relatives) |
| brethren (members of the same society) | |
| horse | horses (animals) |
| horse (cavalry) | |
| foot | feet (parts of the body) |
| foot (infantry) | |
| sail | sails (on vessels) |
| sail (vessels in a fleet) | |
| head | heads (in usual sense) |
| head (of cattle) | |
| fish | fishes (individually) |
| fish (collectively) | |
| penny | pennies (single coins) |
| pence (collectively) | |
| cloth | cloths (pieces of cloth) |
| clothes (garments) | |
| die | dies (for stamping) |
| dice (for gaming) |
- The pennies were arranged in neat piles.
- English money is reckoned in pounds, shillings, and pence.
78. When compound nouns are made plural, the last part usually takes the plural form; less often the first part; rarely both parts.
Examples: