English Recordings

Vertebrae, bacteria and cacti: Forming plurals in English 2

By Liz Walter

Last month I looked at the basic rules for forming plurals in English. In this post, I look at some more complex cases, where the words come from Latin and Greek.

A large proportion of English words have Latin or Greek roots. We still use the Latin plurals for many words, particularly in scientific language, although it is acceptable to use English plurals (usually with ‘s’ or ‘es’) for some of them, particularly non-technical words such as stadium or cactus. However, this depends on the English plural being simple to pronounce – the plural of ‘crisis’ is always ‘crises,’ probably because ‘crisises’ is so difficult to say.

Common Latin plurals include words ending in ‘us’ which form their plural with ‘i’, e.g. cacti, stimuli, radii, fungi, alumni and words ending in ‘um’ which form their plurals with ‘a’, e.g. bacteria, data, millennia, auditoria. Words ending in ‘a’ sometimes form their plurals with ‘ae’, e.g. formulae, larvae, vertebrae, antennae.

Words ending in ‘ix’ drop the ‘x’ and add ‘ces’, e.g. matrices, appendices, while those ending in ‘ex’ often drop ‘ex’ and add ‘ices’, e.g. indices, vortices, apices. Not surprisingly, some of these plurals are becoming increasingly rare, and it is common and acceptable to use e.g. matrixes, apexes, vortexes.

Greek-origin words ending in ‘is’ often form their plural with ‘es’, e.g. bases, ellipses, neuroses, synopses.

As I mentioned before, some words – particularly common, non-technical words – are increasingly heard with regular English plural forms. Which plural you choose will probably depend on how formal you want to be. For instance, it would sound pretty odd to say ‘termini’ or ‘aquaria’ in informal speech, whereas ‘formulae’ and ‘matrices’ are quite normal in scientific texts.

One of the problems with insisting on Latin rules is that you have to have a reasonable knowledge of etymology (where words come from) and many word pedants are themselves inconsistent. Two words which cause a lot of debate are ‘data’ and ‘media’. Both plurals in Latin, many people treat them as singular in English, coming up with phrases such as ‘the data is convincing’ or ‘the media is biased’. However, even purists who deplore this usually accept ‘agenda’ and ‘stamina’ as singular nouns, even though they too are plural in Latin.

Another danger comes with trying to make rules based on spelling only. For instance people sometimes ask why we don’t say ‘octopi’ and ‘omnibi’ – the reason for the former is that ‘octopus’ is a Greek, not a Latin word, and for the latter that ‘omnibus’ is a dative plural (of ‘omnis’), so it makes no grammatical sense to add a plural ending to it.

I’m sorry if all of this is a bit complicated, but remember, if you are in any doubt about how to form a plural, you can consult a dictionary such as the one on this site.

Part 1
Harry was scared by Slytherin when he first started at Hogwarts. When the Sorting hat was set on his head. It actually shows two possibilities: Harry was brave and somewhat chivalrous, the way Gryffindors are but he was also ambitious, cunning and resourceful and all those are Slytherin qualities. He is quick with his tongue and he has no trouble in disrespecting authorities.
His determination, his willing to use all methods to achieve his course.
He can speak with snakes and snakes are the house mascots.
But because Harry wanted anything other than Slytherin, he was placed in Gryffindor.

Part 2
While Hermione is actually a model Ravenclaw, sure she belongs to the Gryffindor house but she possesses all the Ravenclaw qualities. In fact, she is the smartest student at Hogwarts, smartest than any Ravenclaw mentioned in the books, there's no doubt about that.
In fact, people in the story even question why she wasn't put in Ravenclaw.
Could it be because she wished to be Gryffindor as well.

Part 3
Ron, on the other hand, fits in the Hufflepuff house. Loyalty, dedication, patience and fairness are all Hufflepuff qualities and they are all qualities that Ron embodies, especially the loyalty part.
Remember how in the first film, Ron sacrifices himself during a chess game just to let Harry continue his mission. There are several heroic things Ron does throughout the series but that's always loyalty that makes him do so.
Ron is actually a great friend, even after failing time and time again, his loyalty will make him come back to his friends.

The United Kingdom
Scotland
Edinburgh
England
London
Wales
Cardiff
Northern Ireland
Belfast
a thistle
a rose
a leek
a daffodil
a shamrock
a flag
Great Britain
The union jack

1. Don't be late!
2. Open your books!
3. Be quiet!
4. Listen!
5. Don't use your mobiles in class!
6. Don't write on your desks!
7. Take a pen!
8. Don't talk in class!

Woman: Argh Anthony I'm so hungry!
Man: Oh you didn't have breakfast today?
Woman: No I didn't, usually I have cereals with milk at half past seven but I was late this morning!
Man: Oh okay, I also eat at half past seven but I never eat cereals with milk, I prefer toast with butter or jam.
Maybe we can have lunch together Rebecca?
Woman: Okay let's have lunch together! It's 12 o'clock and I always eat lunch at 12 o'clock so this is perfect.
Man: I usually eat at 12.30 but it's okay for me. Let's go to the cafeteria then! I often eat pasta with chicken there.
Woman: I always eat a a homemade sandwich with salad and crisps for lunch, I rarely go to the cafeteria.
Man: Oh I see, and what do you eat for dinner then?
Woman: I love big dinners, I usually eat at 7pm and I have things like fish with rice and vegetables, or hamburgers, but always homemade!
Man: Wow Rebecca you cook a lot! I prefer to eat a light dinner around quarter past eight, so I sometimes eat a tomato salad or just a soup!
Woman: I can cook a real dinner for you someday if you want Anthony!
Man: I like the idea, but first let's go to the cafeteria I am starving too now!

1. The accident happened last Sunday afternoon.

2. It was hot in the room, so I opened the window.

3. We enjoyed our vacation last year. We stayed at a very nice place.

4. We did a lot of work yesterday.

5. When I was a child, I wanted to be a doctor.

6. I already paid the bill.

7. Yesterday it rained all morning. It stopped at lunchtime.

Bullying and forms of bullying

Bullying is the repeated use of violence.

it involves the bully who is the villain, and the victim who is the bullied and the bystander the one who does nothing to help.

Bullying has been a problem in many schools for a long time. It has many forms:
Psychological bullying is when you spread words on someone, you mock, humiliate and intimidate someone every day whereas physical bullying is by using physical violence daily, or forcing someone to give money..
Recent forms are bullying by sending text messages, or cyberbullying by taking or posting embarrassing photos with mobiles or on social media like Facebook and sending them to other people. It's difficult to combat because many victims, the bullied don't know who is sending the messages.

Edward Hopper was a famous American painter.He was born on the 22nd of July in 1882 and he died on the 15th of May in 1967.
He was a very tall man, he had blue eyes and he was bald.As a boy, he was quiet and reserved.
In July 1924, he married Josephine Nivison who was also a painter and his model for his paintings.They had no children.
He liked reading books and really enjoyed going to the cinema.
He found his inspiration walking down the streets in New York city.
Edward Hopper was very good at painting people's loneliness in modern cities.

physical description
head
hair
eye
eyes
nose
ear
ears
mouth
young
old
long hair
short hair
shoulder-length hair
curly hair
straight hair
wavy hair
a round face
a square face
a long face
an oval face
tall
of medium height
small
short
thin
slim
chubby
plum
fat

Present your family using 'I have' = names + age of each family members
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