Plural And Possessive Forms Part 1.
This is the First of a Three Part Study on the correct use of plural and possessive forms. This may seem like a minor issue but among educated persons, however, incorrect forms, especially misuses of apostrophes, stand out like red flags.
Let us start by understanding some rules for forming the plural and possessive forms of nouns.
Plural forms.
The plural form of a noun indicates simply that there are more than one of the person or thing in question.
For most nouns, the plural form includes the letter “s” at the end of the word:
Dogs.
Trees.
Turtles.
Nouns ending in “s”, “z”, “ch”, “sh” and “x”.
Nouns with these letters at the end call for an “es” in the plural form. This added syllable makes pronunciation easier.
Beaches.
Foxes.
Wishes.
Nouns ending in “o”
Some nouns ending in “o” are pluralized with an “s”, while others call for “es”. These words must be memorized, because there is no simple rule to explain the differences.
echoes; heroes; potatoes; vetoes; autos ; memos; pimentos; pros
