• To find a subject... 2.

    From Ardith Hinton@1:153/716 to Alexander Koryagin on Thu Jul 1 23:50:16 2021
    Hi again, Alexander! Continuing my previous reply to you:

    Can you pluralize these words?

    I will not ask Google. ;)


    This is an "open-book" exam with no time limit, meaning you are at liberty to consult Uncle Google or not as you prefer... [chuckle].



    tooth _teeth_


    Correct.



    lens _it is the plural form_


    No... the plural is "lenses".

    In a wonderful example of synchronicity, you posted an example not long afterwards about somebody who lost a contact lens during a cricket game. Whenever I learn a new word I often notice it again somewhere else... [grin].



    cactus _cactuses_ (although I vaguely remember there also
    is another form). But my variant is also correct, is it?


    Yes. I'd say "cacti", but "cactuses" is widely accepted too. :-)



    goose _geese_


    Correct.



    moose (a new word for me) _the same form in plural_


    Ah. I should have guessed the term would be unfamiliar, but you're right. It's a species of large deer (Alces alces) found in North America & in Eurasia. When the inhabitants of the New World were asked "What's that?" they answered by saying something which sounded +/- like "moose". When people from Sweden were asked the same question they answered with something which sounded +/- like "elk". As a result, "moose" = "elk" in British English. :-)



    mouse _mice_

    brother-in-law _brothers-in-law_

    wife _wives_

    woman _women_


    All correct.



    index _indexes_

    memorandum _memorandums_

    millennium _millenniums_


    Yes... or indices, memoranda, and millennia.


    9/10 correct! Very good.... :-)




    --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)