# Plural of nouns



## diegodbs

I would like to know the general basic rule to form the plural of nouns in other languages. I guess there could be some or many exceptions to that rule, but you don't need to write a whole treaty on that subject, just the basic rule(s). But, please, feel free to write as long a commentary as you think it necessary.
If it is a declension based language, the NOMINATIVE PLURAL would suffice.
Thanks in advance.

*In Spanish, the suffix added to the singular form is:    -s/-es*


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## belén

Please correct me if I am not right in some, but these are the ones I know:

In German - en (in Nominativ) 
In Chinese - there is no plural 
In Portuguese - s
In Hungarian -k
In Basque -k

Cheers,
Belén


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## Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!

Slavic languages generally don't have One Plural Suffix to Rule Them All. In Czech, specifically, there are four neutral, four feminine, and six masculine declension patterns, each with two sets of suffixes (singular/plural) for seven cases. That makes for 14*7 = 98 suffixes in plural alone. 

Do you still want them?


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## diegodbs

Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! said:
			
		

> Slavic languages generally don't have One Plural Suffix to Rule Them All. In Czech, specifically, there are four neutral, four feminine, and six masculine declension patterns, each with two sets of suffixes (singular/plural) for seven cases. That makes for 14*7 = 98 suffixes in plural alone.
> 
> Do you still want them?


 
I'm a little bit appalled, I do. But, if you don't mind, could you tell me only the nominative plural (masc. fem. and neutral)?
Thank you very much.


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## jo :)

In English, it's almost always -s, and in French I think its usually an -s, but there are variations depending on the end of the word, eg. the plural of a word ending in -al would be -aux (eg. journal --> journaux)


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## Flip

in italian:
masculine suffix : -i
feminine suffix : -e

in catalan:
masculine suffix : -s
feminine suffix : -es

in spanish:
masculine suffix : -s/-es/-os
feminine suffix :-as


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## Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!

It's not that bad, a lot of the suffixes are very similar, if not the same, across many patterns.

Okay then, just the nominatives.
(sg - pl)

Neutra:
_město - města, moře - moře, kuře - kuřata, stavení - stavení_ (+ _datum - data_, _schéma - schémata_; these are "bonus" patterns for Latin and Greek borrowings which are usually not listed)

Feminines:
_žena - ženy, růže - růže, píseň - písně, kost - kosti_

Masculines:
_pán - páni/pánové*, hrad - hrady, muž - muži/mužové, stroj - stroje, předseda - předsedové, soudce - soudci.

_* There's already another thread concerning this in the Slavic forum.


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## Whodunit

In Latin:

masculine: -i (dominus-domini)/-es (mercator-mercatores)/-us (exercitus [short u]-exercitus [long u])
feminine: -ae (insula-insulae)
neuter: -a (forum-fora)

Of course, there are exceptions, for instance, if you take agricola, which is a masculine word but is declined by feminine pattern.

In German:

Very irregular.
masculine: -en (Mensch-Menschen)/-e (Kurs-Kurse)/umlaut (Mann-Männer)/- (Kalender-Kalender) etc.
feminine: -(e)n (Gardine-Gardinen)/-nen (Freundin-Freundinnen)/umlaut (Maus-Mäuse) etc.
neuter: -(e)n (Zeitung-Zeitungen)/umlaut (aus-Häuser)/- (Fenster-Fenster) etc.

I have no idea  if there is a general pattern at all, since we have many exceptions, such as Latin nouns and so on.

In Arabic:

Very irregular, too.
It's often very easy to form the plural of feminine Arabic nouns, namely by changing the taa marbuta ـة to -aat ـات. Again, it's not rare to see exceptions.

There are broken and "normal" plurals in Arabic. You have to memorize the broken or irrgular ones, since there is no strict rule for them and they are unfortunately relatively common. The regular masculine ending is -uun ـون or in the accusative and genitive case -iin ـين. There's also a pattern for some broken plurals, but I don't think it's worth mentioning it.

It's a somehow interesting that Arabic inanimate nouns in the plural are treated like female singular nouns reagrding adjustment to adjectives, pronouns etc. 

In French:

The general rule is to add -s, although there are some exceptions, such as 
"-al" --> "-aux"
"-eau" --> "-eaux"
Exceptions:
portes-fenêtre --> des portes-fenêtres
porte-monnaie --> des porte-monnaie
portes-documents --> des portes-documents
pince-monseigneur --> des pinces-monseigneur

I esprecially like "œil", whose plural "des yeux" is.

French plural should either take "des" (indefinite) or "les" (definite)  as articles, unlike English:
there were men who ... --> il y avait des hommes qui ...

Hope I was of help.


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## Nenita84

In Dutch more or less the 70% of the words have  a plural whose ending is -en and the same happens in German.


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## amikama

The general rule in Hebrew is: suffix *ים-* (-_im_) for masculine nouns and *ות-* (-_ot_) for feminine nouns. There are several exceptions in which the suffixes are "switched" (i.e., -_im_ for feminine and -_ot_ for masculine). 
In addition, there is also a dual suffix, *יים-* (-_aim_), for nouns (both masculines and feminines) that come in pairs, such as shoes, eyes, hands, etc.


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## dwipper

Whodunit said:
			
		

> In Latin:
> 
> masculine: -i (dominus-domini)/-es (mercator-mercatores)/-us (exercitus [short u]-exercitus [long u])
> feminine: -ae (insula-insulae)
> neuter: -a (forum-fora)
> 
> Of course, there are exceptions, for instance, if you take agricola, which is a masculine word but is declined by feminine pattern.



Unfortunately, the latin plurals for nominatives aren't quite that simple.

1st decl. -ae
2nd decl. (m) -î (n) -a
3rd decl. (m & f) -ês (n) -a
4th decl. (m) -ûs (n) -ua
5th decl. same as singular

God, I hate latin


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## diegodbs

Thank you very much to all of you for your comments and your help.


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## Whodunit

dwipper said:
			
		

> Unfortunately, the latin plurals for nominatives aren't quite that simple.
> 
> 1st decl. -ae
> 2nd decl. (m) -î (n) -a
> 3rd decl. (m & f) -ês (n) -a
> 4th decl. (m) -ûs (n) -ua
> 5th decl. same as singular
> 
> God, I hate latin


 
May I ask you for explaining to me what the difference between your and my chart is? I said exactly the same, in my opinion. Please have a closer look and consider my words.


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## Outsider

Portuguese is like Spanish: 

*if the word ends in vowel, add -s;
if the word ends in consonant, add -es.*

There are a few exceptions and special cases.


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## elroy

Whodunit said:
			
		

> In German:
> 
> Very irregular.
> masculine: -en (Mensch-Menschen)/-e (Kurs-Kurse)/umlaut (Mann-Männer)/- (Kalender-Kalender) etc.
> feminine: -(e)n (Gardine-Gardinen)/-nen (Freundin-Freundinnen)/umlaut (Maus-Mäuse) etc.
> neuter: -(e)n (Zeitung-Zeitungen)/umlaut (aus-Häuser)/- (Fenster-Fenster) etc.
> 
> I have no idea if there is a general pattern at all, since we have many exceptions, such as Latin nouns and so on.


 
There are six possibilities in German:

1. *-en* (Frau, Frauen)
2. *-er + umlaut if possible* (Bild, Bilder; Mann, Männer)
3. *-e + umlaut if possible* (Gerät, Geräte; Wand, Wände)
4. *umlaut only* (Garten, Gärten) 
5. *-s* (Auto, Autos)
6. *nothing at all* (Fernseher, Fernseher)

That's probably an easier way to think of it. There aren't any fixed patterns, but after a while you start getting a "feel" for it. 



> In Arabic:
> 
> Very irregular, too.
> It's often very easy to form the plural of feminine Arabic nouns, namely by changing the taa marbuta ـة to -aat ـات. Again, it's not rare to see exceptions.
> 
> There are broken and "normal" plurals in Arabic. You have to memorize the broken or irrgular ones, since there is no strict rule for them and they are unfortunately relatively common. The regular masculine ending is -uun ـون or in the accusative and genitive case -iin ـين. There's also a pattern for some broken plurals, but I don't think it's worth mentioning it.
> 
> It's a somehow interesting that Arabic inanimate nouns in the plural are treated like female singular nouns reagrding adjustment to adjectives, pronouns etc.


 
Good description.

I would just like to comment on the fact that the irregularity of verbs in German is nowhere near that of Arabic; pluralization in Arabic, I hear, is one of the most difficult aspects of the language to master. That's because there are dozens of irregular "patterns," there are more irregular forms than regular forms, and there is no reliable way to predict what the plural will be. Here are some (randomly chosen) examples:

book: *kitaab* 
books: *kutub*

pen: *qalam*
pens: *aqlaam*

fruit: *thamar*
fruits: *thimaar*

friend: *sadiiq*
friends: *asdiqaa'*

man: *rajul*
men: *rijaal*

child: *Tifl*
children: *aTfaal*

market: *Suuq*
markets: *aSwaaq*

blood: *dam*
bloods: *dimaa'*

snow: *thalj*
snow showers: *thuluuj*

rain: *maTar*
rain showers: *amTaar*

storm: *'aasifa*
storms: *'awaasif*

...and so on and so forth.

Then there's the _really_ irregular

woman: *imra'a*
women: *nisaa'*


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## Whodunit

elroy said:
			
		

> There are six possibilities in German:
> 
> 1. *-en* (Frau, Frauen)
> 2. *-er + umlaut if possible* (Bild, Bilder; Mann, Männer)
> 3. *-e + umlaut if possible* (Gerät, Geräte; Wand, Wände)
> 4. *umlaut only* (Garten, Gärten)
> 5. *-s* (Auto, Autos)
> 6. *nothing at all* (Fernseher, Fernseher)


 
Interesting. I have never learned German from patterns. 



> Good description.
> 
> I would just like to comment on the fact that the irregularity of verbs in German is nowhere near that of Arabic; pluralization in Arabic, I hear, is one of the most difficult aspects of the language to master. That's because there are dozens of irregular "patterns," there are more irregular forms than regular forms, and there is no reliable way to predict what the plural will be. Here are some (randomly chosen) examples:
> 
> book: *kitaab*
> books: *kutub* ...


 
Ok, here's what my grammar books gives: (usual patern: fa3ala)

فُعُول (fu3uul)
أَفْعَال ('af3aal)
فِعَال (fi3aal)
فُعُل (fu3ul)
فُعَل (fu3al)
فُعَّال (fu33aal)
أَفْعِلَة ('af3ila)
أَفْعُل ('af3ul)
فَوَاعِلُ ('fawaa3ilu)
فَعَالِلُ (fa3aalilu)
فَعَلِيلُ (fa3aaliilu)
أَفْعِلاَءُ ('af3ilaa'u)
فُعَلاَءُ (fu3alaa'u)
فَعَلئلُ (fa3aal'iilu)

However, I only have examples for the first three plurals:
طويل - طوال، صحيع - صحاح
قلم - أقلام، لوح - ألواح
بيت - بيوت سقف - سقوف

I could search for examples for the rest, but I don't have so much time by now.


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## elroy

Whodunit said:
			
		

> Ok, here's what my grammar books gives: (usual patern: fa3ala)
> 
> فُعُول (fu3uul)
> أَفْعَال ('af3aal)
> فِعَال (fi3aal)
> فُعُل (fu3ul)
> فُعَل (fu3al)
> فُعَّال (fu33aal)
> أَفْعِلَة ('af3ila)
> أَفْعُل ('af3ul)
> فَوَاعِلُ ('fawaa3ilu)
> فَعَالِلُ (fa3aalilu)
> فَعَلِيلُ (fa3aaliilu)
> أَفْعِلاَءُ ('af3ilaa'u)
> فُعَلاَءُ (fu3alaa'u)
> فَعَلئلُ (fa3aal'iilu)
> 
> However, I only have examples for the first three plurals:
> طويل - طوال، صحيع - صحاح
> قلم - أقلام، لوح - ألواح
> بيت - بيوت سقف - سقوف
> 
> I could search for examples for the rest, but I don't have so much time by now.


 
Right, ok - but the problem is that the patterns are unpredictable!


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## mikhoyan

belen said:
			
		

> In Basque -k



-ak is the general rule

-k if the noun ends in -a
-ek if the noun is subject of the sentence AND the sentence is transitive
-ok in very special cases, to include the speaker in the plural


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## JJchang

In Chinese, no change. We change the adjective and that's clear enough. 

e.g. 一顆蘋果 one apple; 兩顆蘋果 two apples.


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## typistemilio

In mayan language, the nouns doesn't have gender, and the rule for the plural is very simple:

If the noun finish with consonant, you will add the suffix: o'ob
If the noun finish with vocal, then the suffix is: ob.

There are some few exceptions, in that the suffix is: al.

¡Saludillos!


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## Ilmo

Finnish:
The termination of nominative plural of Finnish nouns (and adjectives, too) is "-t". There can be, however, changes in the body of the word, and this concerns all the nouns ending with a consonant.
Examples: house - houses = talo - talot
shoe - shoes = kenkä - kengät
horse - horses = hevonen - hevoset
Additionally one peculiarity of my mother tongue: After a numeral we do not put the plural form of the noun but instead the singular of partitive! Using the same words as above: 2 taloa, 3 kenkää, 4 hevosta
This is a very interesting language to learn - and every Finn have learned it quite well in a few years...


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## Christhiane

In Norwgian - Swedish and Danish - we have the definite article fixed at the end of the word both in singular and plural. Further, the plural indefinite article is also fixed at the end. Norwegian have two written forms, Dano-Norwgian and New-Norwegian. The former is derived from Danish, but tweaked to fit Norwegian pronounciaton, the latter based on Norwegian dialects and constructed approx. 150 years ago. 

*Dano-Norwegian*
m: en gutt, gutten, gutter, guttene - (boy)
f: ei jente, jenta, jenter, jentene* (girl)
n: et barn, barnet, barn, barna (/barnene) (child)

*New-Norwegian*
m: ein gut, guten, gutar, gutane - (boy)
f: ei jente, jenta, jenter, jentene (girl)
n: eit barn, barnet, barn, barna (child)

*All feminine nouns can be made masculine, if you wish. Thus you would use Dano-Norwegian with only masculine and neutral nouns. However, this is quite unusal.


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## Jana337

Czech: Rather messy.  

There are 14 patterns of endings (they also govern declensions, by the way) but it is not easy to guess which applies for a word you have never seen. In some cases, stems are affected as well.

Jana


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## ronanpoirier

Jana337
Oh my God! Wish me luck because i'll need it when I start learning Czech!  If my head is already messed because of Hungarian, it will be more after Czech hehehe

diegodbs
I searched for another thread about plurals and I couldn't find anyone _only about plurals in general_... but it does exist... since you have showed me the link ;-) thanks!


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## diegodbs

I remembered it because I started that thread.


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## Jana337

Merged. 

Jana


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## optimistique

In Dutch the pluralsuffix is indeed mostly *-(e)n*, but also quite a number of words have the pluralsuffix *-s*. A limited number of words have the plural -*eren*.

But if you're interested, be careful in just putting the plural ending *-en *after the word, because in far out the majority of the words the rest of the word undergoes some spelling changes as well, and sometimes there is vowel change involved in forming the plural.


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## robbie_SWE

_In Swedish it's quite simple:_ 

*En hund (sing.)- flera hundar (pl.)* = (dog)
*En blomma (sing.)- flera blommor (pl.)* = (flower)

*Ett tåg (sing.)- flera tåg (pl.)* = (train)
*Ett barn (sing.)- flera barn (pl.)* = (child)

It's quite easy. Isn't it??


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## robbie_SWE

In Romanian you have: 

*Fem: o floare - multe flori *
*       o fata - multe fete*

*Masc: un barbat - multi barbati *
*         un catel - multi catei*


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## linguist786

In *Gujarati* (and *Hindi* for that matter) (oh - and *Urdu* for that matter too!! ) the _general_ rule is:

add "-o" or "-on" at the end of the singular form - regardless of gender.
(very easy). Examples: (all in Gujarati)

Man - _Maa~nas_ (sing.) _Maa~naso_ (plural)
Scissors - _KaatEr_ (sing.) _KaatEro_ (plural)
Knife - _CHaree_ (sing.) _CHareeo_ (plural) (although this is usually pronounced "CHaryo" when said fast)
Knickers  - _chaddee_ (one pair - sing.) _chaddeeo_ (more than one pair - plural) (again - "chadyo" is a better transcription since this is how it's said)
Language - _bhaashaa_ (sing.) _bhaashaao_ (plural)

But obviously, as in any language, there are exceptions (but I don't think there as many in these three languages). Here are some exceptions:

*Gujarati*
Boy - _chokro_ (singular) _chokraao_ (plural) (since "chokro-o" would be strange to pronounce lol)
Girl - _chokri_ (singular) _chokaryo_ (plural) 

hmm.. can't think of anymore. I'll try and edit later to give more examples. 
Nice idea for a thread by the way  Intriguing concept.


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## Honour

i see that turkish is rather simple in this respect.
we either add *ler* or *lar* to the end of the noun. if a word's last vowel is soft (ie. i/e/ö/ü but notice that there are some exceptions due to influence of other langs. ) then it is *ler.* If the word's last vowel is one of the other group (a/o/u/ı) then it is *lar*.
sing.
araba (car)
kedi (cat)
plu.
arabalar (cars)
kediler (cats)


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## ukuca

yeah, when compared to French or some other languages adding *ler* or *lar *seems very very easy. And notice that, there are no exceptions or irregulars to this formula. Actually I'm pleased with my native language


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## Honour

ukuca said:
			
		

> And notice that, there are no exceptions or irregulars to this formula. Actually I'm pleased with my native language


 
actually, there are some;
kontrollar 
kontroller 
profiteroller
actually it depends on how words are pronounced


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## viereaty_blienmest

*in Vietnamese we don't have plural  like Chinese language ^_^*


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## Chriszinho85

In Tagalog, the word "mga" is placed in front of the noun to pluralize it. It is pronounced as if it were written like "manga." The "ng" sound is pronounced like the "ng" sound in the word "going" and not like the "ng" sound in the word "mango."

bata - child   
mga bata - children


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## luckyguy

In Japanese
- There is plural for person.The general rule is to add "-達[tachi]". 
e.g.) アメリカ人(American) → アメリカ人*達*(American*s*)

- But, there is no plural for other nouns


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## panjabigator

linguist786 said:
			
		

> In *Gujarati* (and *Hindi* for that matter) (oh - and *Urdu* for that matter too!! ) the _general_ rule is:
> 
> add "-o" or "-on" at the end of the singular form - regardless of gender.
> (very easy). Examples: (all in Gujarati)
> 
> Man - _Maa~nas_ (sing.) _Maa~naso_ (plural)
> Scissors - _KaatEr_ (sing.) _KaatEro_ (plural)
> Knife - _CHaree_ (sing.) _CHareeo_ (plural) (although this is usually pronounced "CHaryo" when said fast)
> Knickers  - _chaddee_ (one pair - sing.) _chaddeeo_ (more than one pair - plural) (again - "chadyo" is a better transcription since this is how it's said)
> Language - _bhaashaa_ (sing.) _bhaashaao_ (plural)
> 
> But obviously, as in any language, there are exceptions (but I don't think there as many in these three languages). Here are some exceptions:
> 
> *Gujarati*
> Boy - _chokro_ (singular) _chokraao_ (plural) (since "chokro-o" would be strange to pronounce lol)
> Girl - _chokri_ (singular) _chokaryo_ (plural)
> 
> hmm.. can't think of anymore. I'll try and edit later to give more examples.
> Nice idea for a thread by the way  Intriguing concept.



Are you sure you're not confusing Hindi/Urdu and Gujarati above?  I have never heard an O sound attached in Hindi or Urdu to pluralize.

Some nouns are static...they don't change regardless of singular or plural (at least in Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu).
Man--Manushya (H), bandaa (P), Aadmii (U)
out of these, only the Punjabi word, when pluralized becomes "bande."  You can use aadmii in Hindi as well. bandaa, I believe, comes from the Arabic for slave...someone correct me on this.
scissors-- kainchii (any language), plural: kainchiyaan
knife--(any language) chaakuu, chhurii (pl: chhuriyaaN)
knickers- I would just say knicker haha...to pluralize I would say "nikereN" in Hindi/Urdu and "nikeraaN" in Punjabi.
language-- (H/P) BhaaShaa, (U)-zabaan.  Plural- Bhaashaae.N (H), BhaashaavaaN (P), zabaan (U)(doesnt change to my knowledge)

The only time an "O" sound would follow a word in Hindi/Urdu would be if a post position followed it.  Prepositions (about, above, across, after, against, around, among, at etc...) in North Indian languages that follow nouns cause there to be a terminal nasalize "O" sound at the end.  In Punjabi, it is a nasalized "A" sound.  Hope this makes sense.


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## panjabigator

Lesson 3 here at A door Into Hindi should exlain things better.

edit: here is a more direct link to it

another edit:  there is even a movie explaining it!


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## linguist786

Thank you very very much!! I think I did mix the Gujarati and Urdu/Hindi up to be honest - very silly of me!


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## cityoflight

Hi everyone,

Very interesting thread. Swahili is very regular but also very complex - bizarrely, there are no 'feminine' or 'masculine' nouns (other than words which are specific to human gender e.g. mother, father etc) but 'mtu', for example, means 'person' regardless of sex. Plurals are made with prefixes, like a many other Bantu languages.

However, there are tons of different noun classes which have nothing to do with gender, more with substance or kind:

Class 1: m-   (generally human singulars, e.g. mtu)
Class 2: wa - (plural of 1 - watu)
Class 3: m-   (usually plants, trees etc., e.g. mti, tree)
Class 4: mi-  (plural of 3 - miti)
Class 5: ki-   ('thing' class, e.g. kitabu, book - this one's borrowed from Arabic)
Class 6: vi - (plural of 5 - vitabu)
Class 7: (no prefix) (another thing class, e.g. tunda - fruit)
Class 8: ma- (plural of 7, e.g. matunda)
Class 9: n-   (another thing class, e.g. chupa, bottle)
Class 10: n- (no change - plural of 9 - chupa)
Class 11: u- (another thing class, e.g. ulimi, tongue. Takes is plural from 10 i.e. drops its u-, but sometimes changes e.g. tongues - ndimi)
Class 12: (abstract class, no plural, e.g. utu, humanity, beingness)

I hope I've got the order right, it's been a while...Then there are three classes relating to place (I forget what number they take! It's not 13 14 and 15 for some reason):

po- specific place
ko- general place
mo- someplace inside.

Phew! Sorry about the tidal wave of information... The classes also determine the pronoun, which sticks onto the tense, the verb and a multitude of other phrase elements, as well as the relative infix: 

e.g. kitabu kilichokuwa mezani - the book which was on the table

kitabu nilichonunua - the book which I bought. 

('cho' is an irregular relative infix for ki-).

I'd love to know what other African languages do with plural patterns. Any experts...?

=)


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## maree

In Norway we have two slightly different written languages:
_Nynorsk _and _bokmål_

In both languages the plural form depends on the gender of the verb. There are also plenty of exceptions. I'll list the main forms:

*(n)*
Nynorsk: eit eple - eple / bokmål: et eple - epler (-er/no ending)_ (apple - apples)_

*(f)*
Nynorsk: ei gate (-er) - gater / bokmål: en/ei gate - gater (-er)_ (street)_

*(m)*
Nynorsk: ein hest - hestar / bokmål: en hest - hester (-er)_ (horse)_


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## gorilla

Hungarian:

It depends on the noun.
If the word ends with a or e the last sound is extended and -k is added.
kacsa - kacsák (duck)
medve - medvék (bear)

If it ends with an other vowel, simply -k is added.
hajó - hajók (ship)

If it ends with a consonant, it's really hard to predict.
Although there are some that you can rule out at once.
Each noun ending in a consonant has a bounding vowel for conjugation. It applies to the objective case and the plural and to other word forms.

-a:
ház - házak (house)
sometimes the long vowel in the word is shortened.
nyár - nyarak (summer)
nyúl - nyulak (rabbit)

-e:
fej - fejek (head)
ember - emberek (human)
körzet - körzetek (district)
betegség - betegségek (disease)

-ö:
kör - körök (circle, ring)
sometimes a sound is dropped:
vödör - vödrök instead of vödörök (bucket)

-o:
asztal - asztalok (table)
udvar - udvarok (court, yard)
papír - papírok (paper)

for the accusative (-t) sometimes there is no bounding vowel.
gáz - gázt but gázok (gas)

and there are some cases like these:
ló - lovak (horse)
hó - havak (snow)
tó - tavak (lake)
kő - kövek (stone) etc




It's not complicated if you get used to it.
And yes it's often hard to tell the plural for a rare word even for natives. As I said some can easily be ruled out, but -o or -a is often a hard question. For some words both are correct.


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## panjabigator

linguist786 said:
			
		

> Thank you very very much!! I think I did mix the Gujarati and Urdu/Hindi up to be honest - very silly of me!



no its cool...it happens man!  People do it when speaking too!


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## avalon2004

In Modern Greek, there are several ways of forming the plural depending on the ending and the gender of the noun. Here are some common forms (in the nominative case):

*Sing*         --          *Plural
*ο άνθρωπ*ος* -- οι άνθρωπ*οι *
ο συγγραφ*έας* -- οι συγγραφ*είς*
το όνειρ*ο* -- τα όνειρ*α*
το κορίτσ*ι* -- τα κορίτσ*ια*
το πράγμ*α* -- τα πράγμ*ατα*
το λάθ*ος* -- τα λάθ*η*
το φώ*ς* -- τα φώ*τα*
η απ*ό*φασ*η* -- οι αποφ*άσεις*
η γιαγι*ά* -- οι γιαγι*άδες*
η ελπίδ*α* -- οι ελπίδ*ες

*I used to think it seemed all very complicated/unnecessarily difficult  but after a while I just got used to it. The patterns are quite predictable provided you remember what gender the nouns are.


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## Bienvenidos

*Persian (Farsi)*

*To form the plural of a word ending with a CONSONANT SOUND*
_add an *-ah* to the entire word._

*Example:*

Kulum (Pen)
Kulumah (Pens)

*To form the plural of a word ending with a VOWEL SOUND*
_drop the SINGULAR ENDING and add an -*ah*._

*Example: *
Pyaluh (Cup) [Note: This word, as transliterated, ends with a consonant, but the H is silent, thus making the word end with a vowel SOUND.]

*DROP THE -UH ending of the word, and add -ah to make:*
Pyalah (Cups)

 A little confusing. 

*Bien*


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## Maja

In Serbian:

masculine: -i 
sin - sinovi (son-sons)

feminine: -e 
kuća  - kuće (house-houses)

neuter: -a 
selo - sela  (village-villages)

But, there are, of course, irregular plural forms!!!

Cheers


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## Jonah D. Conner

The situation in classical greek is similar to Czech and latin, it uses cases that have their own individual ending. Here are some examples:
Masc fem neut
Nm -oi -ai -a
Gn -wv -wv -wv
Dt -ois -ais -ois
Ac -ous -as -a


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## Chaska Ñawi

Bolivian Quechua, by comparison, is very simple.  You only add the suffix "kuna" to a word to pluralize it.


----------



## Becker

In Sinhalese, you usually cut off a syllable to form the plural of inanimate things:

gala (stone), gal (stones)
mala (flower), mal (flowers)
gasa (tree), gas (trees)
tola (lip), tol (lips)
ata (hand), at (hands)
aesa (eye), aes (eyes)
data (tooth), dat (teeth)
kana (ear), kan (ears)
diva (tongue), div (tongues)
paena (pen), paen (pens)

or add the word "wal" to the end:

kaya (body), kayawal (bodies)
gedara (home), gedarawal (homes)
paya (foot), payawal (feet)
dora (door), dorawal (doors)

or if there is a double consonant you add "i":

angilla (finger), angili (fingers)
kossa (broom), kosu (brooms)
petta (petal), peti (petals)

Most living things end in "aa" so you just convert that to "o" or add 'n' to get the plural:

ballaa (dog), ballo (dogs), ballan (dogs)
poosaa (cat), pooso (cats), poosan (cats)
asvayaa (horse), asvayo (horses), asvayan (horses)
kurullaa (bird), kurullo (birds), kurullan (birds)
haawaa (rabbit), haawo (rabbits), haawan (rabbits)
gembaa (frog), gembo (frogs), gemban (frogs)
booruwaa (donkey), booruwo (donkeys), booruwan (donkeys)

kollaa (boy), kollo (boys), kollan (boys)
kellaa (girl), kello (girls), kellan (girls)


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## MarX

Hi!

In Indonesian we don't use plural like most European languages do.
You guys can pose me questions, hopefully I can explain more.

Salam,


MarX


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## apmoy70

OK, buckle up for Modern Greek:

Masculine:
-Nouns in *«-ας»* [-as] > *«-ες»* [-es] e.g. *«ο αγκώνας»* [o aŋˈgonas] (nom. sing.) --> _the elbow_ > *«οι αγκώνες»* [i aŋˈgones] (nom. pl.) --> _the elbows_
-Nouns in *«-ης»* [-is] > *«-ες»* [-es] e.g. *«ο ναύτης»* [o ˈnaftis] (nom. sing.) --> _the sailor_ > *«οι ναύτες»* [i ˈnaftes] (nom. pl.) --> _the sailors_
-Nouns in *«-έας»* [-ˈe.as] (that belonged to the ancient 3rd declension and the suffix was *«-εύς» -e̯ús*) > *«-είς»* [-ˈis] e.g. *«ο τομέας»* [o toˈme.as] (ancient *«ὁ τομεύς» hŏ tome̯ús*) --> _the sector_ > *«οι τομείς»* [i toˈmis] (nom. pl.) --> _the sectors_
-Nouns in *«-ος»* [-os] > *«-οι»* [-i] e.g. *«ο άνθρωπος»* [o ˈanθropos] (nom. sing.) --> _the human_ > *«οι άνθρωποι»* [i ˈanθropi] (nom. pl.) --> _the humans_
-Nouns in *«-ούς»* [-ˈus] > *«-ούδες»* [-ˈuðes] e.g. *«ο παππούς»* [o paˈpus] (nom. sing.) --> _the grandfather_ > *«οι παππούδες»* [i paˈpuðes] (nom. pl.) --> _the grandfathers_
-Nouns in *«-ές»* [-ˈes] > *«-έδες»* [-ˈeðes] e.g. *«ο καφές»* [o kaˈfes] (nom. sing.) --> _the coffee_ > *«οι καφέδες»* [i kaˈfeðes] (nom. pl.) --> _the coffees_

Feminine:
-Nouns in *«-α»* [-a] > *«-ες»* [-es] e.g. *«η ώρα»* [i ˈoɾa] (nom. sing.) --> _the hour_ > *«οι ώρες»* [i ˈoɾes] (nom. pl.) --> _the hours_
-Nouns in *«-η»* [-i] > *«-ες»* [-es] e.g. *«η νίκη»* [i ˈnici] (nom. sing.) --> _the victory_ > *«οι νίκες»* [i ˈnices] (nom. pl.) --> _the victories_
-Nouns in *«-η»* [-i] (that belonged to the ancient 3rd declension and the suffix was *«-ις»*) > *«-εις»* [-is] e.g. *«η πόλη»* [i ˈpoli] (ancient *«ἡ πόλις» hē pólis*) --> _the city_ > *«οι πόλεις»* [i ˈpolis] (nom. pl.) --> _the cities_
-Nouns in *«-ος»* > *«-οι»* [-i] e.g. *«η ψήφος»* [i ˈp͡sifos] (nom. sing.) --> _the vote_ > *«οι ψήφοι»* [i ˈp͡sifi] (nom. pl.) --> _the votes_

Neuter:
-Nouns in *«-ό»* [-ˈo] > *«-ά»* [-ˈa] e.g. *«το νερό»* [to neˈɾo] (nom. sing.) --> _the fresh/drinkable water_ > *«τα νερά»* [ta neˈɾa] (nom. pl.) --> _the fresh/drinkable waters_
-Nouns in *«-ί»* [-ˈi] (ancient diminutives in *«-ίον» -íŏn*) > *«-ιά»* [-ˈʝ͡a] or [-ˈç͡a] e.g. *«το παιδί»* [to peˈði] (nom. sing.) --> _the child_ > *«τα παιδιά»* [ta peðˈʝ͡a] (nom. pl.) --> _the children_; *«το αφτί»* [to afˈti] (nom. sing.) --> _the ear_ > *«τα αφτιά»* [ta aftˈç͡a] (nom. pl.) --> _the ears_
-Nouns in *«-ι»* [-i] (ancient diminutives in *«-ιον» -iŏn*) > *«-ια»* [-ç͡a] e.g. *«το σπίτι»* [to ˈspiti] (nom. sing.) --> _the house_ (< Κοine Gr *«τὸ ὁσπίτιον» tò hŏspítiŏn* < Lat. hospitium) > *«τα σπίτια»* [ta ˈspitç͡a] (nom. pl.) --> _the houses_
-Nouns in *«-ος»* [-os] > *«-η»* [-i] e.g. *«το έπος»* [to ˈepos] (nom. sing.) --> _the epic_ > *«τα έπη»* [ta ˈepi] (nom. pl.) --> _the epics_
-Nouns in *«-μα»* [-ma] > *«-ματα»* [-mata] e.g. *«το μάθημα»* [to ˈmaθima] (nom. sing.) --> _the lesson_ > *«τα μαθήματα»* [ta maˈθimata] (nom. pl.) --> _the lessons_
-Verbal noun in *«-ιμο»* [-imo] > *«-ίματα»* [-ˈimata] e.g. *«το γράψιμο»* [to ˈɣrap͡simo] (nom. sing.) --> _the concept of writing_ > *«τα γραψίματα»* [ta ɣraˈp͡simata] (nom. pl.) --> _the writings_


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## Dymn

Flip said:


> masculine suffix : -s
> feminine suffix : -es


Rather than for feminine, _-es _is for nouns ending in _-a_. It also applies to masculine nouns like _problema > problemes_.

I'd summarise it as:
_-s_: most times
_-a_ > _-es
-ns: _for nouns which previously had _-n _in the singular, in general corresponds to nouns ending in a stressed vowel (_català > catalans_)
_-os_: for nouns ending in /s/, /ʃ/; and optionally /ʧ/ as well as some complicated clusters like /st/ and /sk/


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## Sardokan1.0

In Sardinian the plurals add the *S* like in western Romance languages, with some differences between northern and southern Sardinian.

*Central-Northern Sardinian (Logudorese-Nuorese)*

Masculine


Nouns ending with *U *- plural with *OS *- _su carru --> sos carros_ (the wagon, the wagons) _su fogu --> sos fogos_ (the fire, the fires) _su riu --> sos rios _(the river, the rivers) 

Nouns ending with *E *- plural with *ES *- _su cane --> sos canes_ (the dog, the dogs) _su pane --> sos panes _(the bread, the breads) _su sole --> sos soles _(the sun, the suns)
Nouns ending with *I* - plural with *IS *- _su coghinèri --> sos coghinèris_ (the cook, the cooks) _su marinèri --> sos marinèris_ (the sailor, the sailors) _su furistèri --> sos furistèris_ (the stranger, the strangers)
Feminine


Nouns ending with *A* - plural with *AS *- _sa janna --> sas jannas_ (the door, the doors) _sa padedda --> sas padeddas_ (the pot, the pots) _sa pumàta --> sas pumàtas _(the tomato, the tomatoes)
Nouns Ending with *E* - plural with *ES *- _s'àrvure --> sas àrvures_ (the tree, the trees) _sa dente --> sas dentes_ (the tooth, the teeth) _sa lughe --> sas lughes_ (the light, the lights)
Nouns ending with *U *- plural with *OS *- _sa manu --> sas manos_ (the hand, the hands) _sa figu --> sas figos_ (the fig, the figs)

*Southern Sardinian (Campidanese)*

Masculine


Nouns ending with *U *- plural with *US *-_ su carru --> is carrus_ (the wagon, the wagons) _su fogu --> is fogus_ (the fire, the fires) _s'arrìu --> is arrìus_ (the river, the rivers)
Nouns ending with *I* - plural with *IS* - _su cani --> is canis_ (the dog, the dogs) _su pani --> is panis_ (the bread, the breads) _su soli --> is solis_ (the sun, the suns)
Feminine


Nouns ending with *A* - plural with *AS *- _sa genna --> is gennas_ (the door, the doors) _sa pingiàda --> is pingiàdas_ (the pot, the pots) _sa tomàta --> is tomàtas_ (the tomato, the tomatoes) 

Nouns ending with *U *- plural with *US *- _sa manu --> is manus_ (the hand, the hands) _sa figu --> is figus_ (the fig, the figs)


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## whir77

Why not just add an s in the accusative and ablative, and -ē -es -us or -ī in the nominative?


----------



## Sardokan1.0

Mysteries of the evolution, the Sardinian language split in two branches during the Middle Ages, following two different paths, with a lot of different evolutive solutions.


----------



## whir77

Sardokan1.0 said:


> Mysteries of the evolution, the Sardinian language split in two branches during the Middle Ages, following two different paths, with a lot of different evolutive solutions.


Isn't Sardinian the closest neo-latin dialect to Latin? I find it fascinating. Too bad not so many people speak it anymore.


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## Sardokan1.0

Yes, it's really close to Latin, the central and northern Sardinian is considered the most conservative, it's nearly identical to the medieval language, while southern Sardinian diverged a lot from medieval language in phonetics and vocabulary.

the estimate number of speakers or people able to speak it is about 1,2 millions, with about 1,7 millions able to understand it.

p.s.
I think we are going out of topic


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## Stoggler

In Welsh, there are precious few straightforward rules, you generally have to learn each plural for each word.

Most nouns will fall into one of the following plural endings: -au, -iau, -ion, -ydd, -i, -od.

Examples:
coes - leg
coesau - legs
bryn - hill
bryniau - hills
tref - town (often 'tre' in modern Welsh)
trefi - towns
llew - lion
llewod - lions

Then there are a good number of words where the plural is a shortened version of the singular (the singular seems to be a plural form with a suffix attached).  Examples:
coeden - tree
coed - trees
seren - star
ser - stars

Welsh also has words where the plural is formed by just a change in a vowel, or a change of vowel with the addition of an ending.  e.g.
tŷ - house
tai - houses
cwm - valley
cymoedd - valleys
dafad - sheep (sing.)
defaid - sheep (pl.)

There are a few other ways of forming a plural, such as dropping of a final sound and adding a suffix:
peiriant - machine
peiriannau - machines

Or there can be the English plural of adding an -s on loan words (especially more recent loans).


----------



## spindlemoss

Stoggler said:


> Then there are a good number of words where the plural is a shortened version of the singular (the singular seems to be a plural form with a suffix attached).  Examples:
> coeden - tree
> coed - trees
> seren - star
> ser - stars



This is so unusual, that some grammatical analyses of Welsh don't even classify these as singular-plural but rather singulative-collective.


----------



## Red Arrow

elroy said:


> There are six possibilities in German:
> 
> 1. *-en* (Frau, Frauen)
> 2. *-er + umlaut if possible* (Bild, Bilder; Mann, Männer)
> 3. *-e + umlaut if possible* (Gerät, Geräte; Wand, Wände)
> 4. *umlaut only* (Garten, Gärten)
> 5. *-s* (Auto, Autos)
> 6. *nothing at all* (Fernseher, Fernseher)
> 
> That's probably an easier way to think of it. There aren't any fixed patterns, but after a while you start getting a "feel" for it.


Yes, plurals should be learnt with patterns.

Dutch is more regular:
*1. -en* (words ending with a consonant, oe, ie, ee, ui, ij or ei)
*2. -en + longer vowel *(irregular, only used for a few basic words)
*3. -s *(words ending with a, i, o, u, y or an unstressed syllable, as well as some loanwords)
*4. -eren *(only used for about 15 neuter words)

With longer vowels, I mean:
a => aa
e => ee
i => ee
o => oo

Swedish is also more regular than German:
*1. -or *(en-words ending with a, the a is dropped)
*2. -er *(loanwords)
*3. -er + umlaut *(irregular)
*4. -ar *(en-words ending with a consonant)
*5. -n *(ett-words ending with a vowel)
*6. nothing at all *(ett-words ending with a consonant)
*7. umlaut only *(irregular)

Words ending with unstressed -e, -el, -en, -er or -on get the ending -ar, but the e/o is dropped.


----------



## Stoggler

spindlemoss said:


> This is so unusual, that some grammatical analyses of Welsh don't even classify these as singular-plural but rather singulative-collective.



Interesting, I hadn't heard of that distinction before.  I wonder if there are similar singulative-collective usages in Breton or Cornish? I'm not familiar with those two languages.


----------



## spindlemoss

Stoggler said:


> Interesting, I hadn't heard of that distinction before.  I wonder if there are similar singulative-collective usages in Breton or Cornish? I'm not familiar with those two languages.



No I hadn't either. I've never seen it described that way in literature on the language in Welsh - it's always _unigol/lluosog _(singular/plural). But in some (more scholarly?) descriptions of Welsh in English they insist on calling it singulative/collective.

Breton and Cornish both have the same phenomenon:

English: *star* / *stars*

Welsh: *seren* / *sêr*

Cornish: *steren* / *ster*

Breton: *sterenn* / *ster
*


----------



## Red Arrow

spindlemoss said:


> Cornish: *steren* / *ster*
> 
> Breton: *sterenn* / *ster*




Dutch:* ster / sterren*


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## apmoy70

Ancient Greek:

First Declension, Masculine:
-Nouns in *«-ᾱς» -ās* > *«-αι» -a̯i* e.g. *«ὁ νεανίᾱς» hŏ nĕăníās* --> _the youngster_ > *«οἱ νεανίαι» ho̯i nĕănía̯i* --> _the youngsters_
-Nouns in *«-ης» -ēs* > *«-αι» -a̯i* e.g. *«ὁ στρατιώτης» hŏ strătĭṓtēs* --> _the soldier >_ *«οἱ στρατιῶται» ho̯i strătĭôta̯i* --> _the soldiers_
-Nouns in *«-έας/-ῆς» -éās* (uncontracted)/*-ês* (contracted) > *«-αῖ» -a̯î* e.g. *«ὁ Ἑρμέᾱς/Ἑρμῆς» hŏ Hĕrméās* (uncontracted)/*Hĕrmês* (contracted) --> _the god Hermes_ > *«οἱ ἑρμέαι/ἑρμαῖ» ho̯i hĕrméa̯i* (uncontracted)/*hĕrma̯î* (contracted) --> _the herms, statues of Hermes in ancient Athens_

Feminine:
-Nouns in *«-ᾱ» -ā* > *«-αι» -a̯i* e.g. *«ἡ ἀλήθειᾱ» hē ălḗtʰe̯iā* --> _the truth_ > *«αἱ ἀλήθειαι» ha̯i ălétʰe̯ia̯i* --> _the truths_
-Nouns in *«-α» -ă* > *«-αι» -a̯i* e.g. *«ἡ τράπεζα» hē trắpĕză* --> _the table_ > *«αἱ τράπεζαι» ha̯i trắpĕza̯i* --> _the tables_
-Nouns in *«-η» -ē* > *«-αι» -a̯i* e.g. *«ἡ κώμη» hē kṓmē* --> _the town_ > *«αἱ κῶμαι» ha̯i kôma̯i* --> _the towns_
-Nouns in *«-ή» -ḗ* > *«-αί» -a̯í* e.g. *«ἡ τιμή» hḗ timḗ* --> _the honour_ > *«αἱ τιμαί» ha̯i tima̯í* --> _the honours_
-Nouns in *«-άᾱ/-ᾶ» -ắā* (uncontracted)/*-â* (contracted) > *«-άαι/-αῖ» -ắa̯i* (uncontracted)/*-a̯î* (contracted) e.g. *«ἡ μνάᾱ/μνᾶ» hē mnắā* (uncontracted)/*mnâ* (contracted) --> _the mna (ancient Greek unit of currency equaled 100 drachmas)_ > *«αἱ μνάαι/μναῖ» ha̯i mnắa̯i* (uncontracted)/*mna̯î* --> _the mnas_

Second Declension, Masculine:
-Nouns in *«-ος» -ŏs* > *«-οι» -o̯i* e.g *«ὁ ἄνθρωπος» hó ắntʰrōpŏs* --> _the human_ > *«οἱ ἄνθρωποι» ho̯i ắntʰrōpo̯i* --> _the humans_
-Nouns in *«-ός» -ós* > *«-οί» -o̯í* e.g. *«ὁ θεός» hŏ tʰĕós* --> _the god_ > *«οἱ θεοί» ho̯i tʰĕo̯í* --> _the gods_
-Nouns in *«-οος/-ους» -ŏŏs* (uncontracted)/*-ous* (contracted) > *«-οι» -o̯i* e.g *«ὁ ἔκπλοος/ἔκπλους» hŏ ékplŏŏs* (uncontracted)/*ékplous* (contracted) --> _the entrance of a harbour_ > *«οἱ ἔκπλοι» ho̯i ékplo̯i* --> _the harbour's entrances_
-Nouns in *«-όος/-οῦς» -óŏs* (uncontracted)/*-oûs* (contracted) > *«-οῖ» -o̯î* e.g. *«ὁ πλόος/πλοῦς» hŏ plóŏs* (uncontracted)/*ploûs* (contracted) --> _the voyage by sea_ > *«οἱ πλοῖ» ho̯i plo̯î* --> _the voyages_
-Attic nouns in *«-ως» -ōs* > *«-ω» -ō* e.g. *«ὁ πρόνεως» hŏ prónĕōs* --> _the pronaos (the inner area of the portico of a Greek or Roman temple)_ > *«οἱ πρόνεω» ho̯i próneō* --> _the pronaoi (nom. pl.)_
-Attic nouns in *«-ώς» -ṓs* > *«-ῴ» -ǭ́* e.g. *«ὁ λεώς» hŏ lĕṓs* --> _the people (nom. sing.)_ > *«οἱ λεῴ» ho̯i lĕǭ́* --> _the peoples_

Feminine:
-Nouns in *«-ος» -ŏs* > *«-οι» -o̯i* e.g. *«ἡ νῆσος» hē nêsŏs* --> _the island_ > *«αἱ νῆσοι» ha̯i nêso̯i* --> _the islands_
-Nouns in *«-ός» -ós* > *«-οί» -o̯í* e.g. *«ἡ ὁδός» hē hŏdós* --> _the road_ > *«αἱ ὁδοί» ha̯i hŏdo̯í* --> _the roads_
-Attic nouns in *«-ως» -ōs* > *«-ω» -ō* e.g. *«ἡ ἅλως» hē hắlōs* --> _the threshing floor_ > *«αἱ ἅλω» ha̯i hắlō* --> _the threshing floors_

Neuter:
-Nouns in *«-ον» -ŏn* > *«-α» -ă* e.g. *«τὸ δῶρον» tò dôrŏn* --> _the gift_ > *«τὰ δῶρα» tằ dôră* --> _the gifts_
-Nouns in *«-όν» -ón* > *«-ά» -ắ* e.g. *«τὸ φυτόν» tò pʰŭtón* --> _the plant_ > *«τὰ φυτά» tằ pʰŭtắ* --> _the plants_
-Nouns in *«-έον/-οῦν» -éŏn* (uncontracted)/*-oûn* (contracted) > *«-έα/-ᾶ» -éă* (uncontracted)/*-â* (contracted) e.g. *«τὸ ὀστέον/ὀστοῦν» tò ŏstéŏn* (uncontracted)/*ŏstoûn* (contracted) --> _the bone_ > *«τὰ ὀστέα/ὀστᾶ» tằ ŏstéă* (uncontracted)/*ŏstâ* (contracted) --> _the bones_
-Attic nouns in *«-ων» -ōn* > *«-ω» -ō* e.g. *«τὸ ἀνώγεων» tò ănṓgĕōn* --> _the granary_ > *«τὰ ἀνώγεω» tằ ănṓgĕō* --> _the granaries
_
(The Third Declension will follow)


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## apmoy70

Third Declension, Masculine:
-Nouns in *«-ις» -ĭs* > *«-εις» -e̯is* e.g. *«ὁ ὄφις» hŏ ópʰĭs* --> _the snake_ > *«οἱ ὄφεις» ho̯i ópʰe̯is* --> _the snakes_
-Nouns in *«-ως» -ōs* > *«-ωες» -ōĕs* e.g. *«ὁ ἥρως» hŏ hḗrōs* --> _the hero_ > *«οἱ ἥρωες» ho̯i hḗrōĕs* --> _the heroes_
-Nouns in *«-ώς» -ṓs* > *«-ῶες» -ôĕs* e.g. *«ὁ θώς» hŏ tʰṓs* --> _the jackal_ > *«οἱ θῶες» ho̯i tʰôĕs* --> _the jackals_
-Nouns in *«-υς» -us* > *«-υες» -uĕs* e.g. *«ὁ κάνδυς» hŏ kắndus* --> the_ Persian mantle > _*«οἱ κάνδυες» ho̯i kắnduĕs* --> _the mantles_
-Nouns in *«-ύς» -ús* > *«-ύες» -úĕs* e.g. *«ὁ ἰχθύς» hŏ ĭkʰtʰús* --> the fish > *«οἱ ἰχθύες» ho̯i ĭkʰtʰúĕs* --> the fishes
-Νouns in *«-ῦς» -ûs* > *«-ύες» -úĕs* e.g. *«ὁ μῦς» hŏ mûs* --> the mouse > *«οἱ μύες» ho̯i múĕs* --> the mice
-Nouns (polysyllabic) in *«-υς» -us* > *«-εις» -e̯is* e.g *«ὁ πέλεκυς» hŏ pélĕkŭs* --> the battle axe > *«οἱ πελέκεις»  ho̯i pĕléke̯is* --> the battle axes
-Nouns in *«-εύς» -ĕús* > *«-εῖς» -e̯îs* e.g. *«ὁ βασιλεύς» hŏ băsile̯ús* --> the king > *«οἱ βασιλεῖς» ho̯i băsile̯îs* --> the kings
-Nouns in *«-οῦς» -oûs* > *«-ες» -ĕs* e.g. *«ὁ βοῦς» hŏ boûs* --> the ox > *«οἱ βόες» ho̯i bóĕs* --> the oxen
-Nouns in *«-ωρ» -ōr* > *«-ορες» -ŏrĕs* e.g. *«ὁ ῥήτωρ» hŏ rʰḗtōr* --> the orator > *«οἱ ῥήτορες» ho̯i rʰḗtŏrĕs* --> the orators
-Nouns in *«-ήρ» -ḗr* > *«-έρες» -érĕs* e.g. *«ὁ ἀθήρ» hŏ ătʰḗr* --> the awn > *«οἱ ἀθέρες» ho̯i ătʰérĕs* (nom. pl.)
-Nouns in *«-ώρ» -ṓr* > *«-ες» ĕs* e.g. *«ὁ ἰχώρ» hŏ ĭkʰṓr* --> _the fluid which runs through the veins of gods_ > *«οἱ ἰχῶρες» ho̯i ĭkʰôrĕs* (nom. pl.)
-Nouns in *«-άων/-ῶν» -áōn* (uncontracted)/*-ôn* (contracted) > *«-άονες/-ῶνες» -ắŏnĕs* (uncontracted)/*-ônĕs* (contracted) e.g. *«ὁ τυφάων/τυφῶν» hŏ tūpʰáōn* (uncontracted)/*tūpʰôn* (contracted) --> _the typhoon_ > *«οἱ τυφάονες/τυφῶνες» ho̯i tūpʰáŏnĕs* (uncontracted)/*tūpʰônĕs* (contracted) --> _the typhoons_
-Nouns (paroxytone) in *«-ων» -ōn* > *«-ες» -ĕs* e.g. *«ὁ Λάκων» hŏ Lắkōn* --> _the Laconian man_ > *«οἱ Λάκωνες» ho̯i Lắkōnĕs* --> _the Laconians_
-Nouns in *«-ών» -ṓn* > *«-όνες» -ónĕs* e.g. *«ὁ ἡγεμών» hŏ hēgĕmṓn* --> _the prince, ruler_ > *«οἱ ηγεμόνες» ho̯i hēgĕmónĕs* (nom. pl.)
-Nouns with ending the double consonant *«-ξ» -k͡s* > *«-ες» -ĕs* e.g. *«ὁ κόραξ» hŏ kórak͡s* --> _the crow_ > *«οἱ κόρακες» ho̯i kórakĕs* --> _the crows_
-Nouns with ending the double consonant *«-ψ» -p͡s* > *«-ες» -ĕs* e.g. *«ὁ γύψ» hŏ gúp͡s* --> _the vulture_ > *«οἱ γύπες» gúpĕs* --> _the vultures_
-Nouns with single stem a dental consonant > *«-ες» -ĕs* e.g:
*«Ὁ τάπης» hŏ tắpēs* (stem: *«-τ-» -t-*) --> _the carpet_ > *«οἱ τάπητες» ho̯i tắpētĕs* --> _the carpets_
*«Ὁ ὄρνις» hŏ órnis* (stem: *«-θ-» -tʰ-*) --> _the bird_ > *«οἱ ὄρνιθες» ho̯i órnitʰĕs* --> _the birds_
-Nouns with single stem *«-ντ» -nt-* > *«-ες» -ĕs* e.g *«ὁ γίγας» hŏ gígas* (stem: *«γίγαντ- gígant-*) --> _the giant_ > *«οἱ γίγαντες» ho̯i gígantĕs* --> _the giants_
-Nouns with single stem a nasal consonant > *«-ες» -ĕs* e.g *«ὁ Ἕλλην» hŏ Héllēn* (stem *«-ν-» -n-*) --> _the Greek man_ > *«οἱ Ἕλληνες» ho̯i Héllēnĕs* --> _the Greeks_
-Nouns with double stem *«-ντ» -nt-* > *«-ες» -ĕs* e.g *«ὁ γέρων» hŏ gérōn* (stem: *«γέρωντ-» gérōnt-*) --> _the old man_ > *«οἱ γέροντες» ho̯i gérŏntĕs* (nom. pl.)

Feminine
-Nouns in *«-υς» -us* > *«-υος» -uŏs* e.g. *«ἡ πίτυς» hē pítus* --> _the pine-tree_ > *«αἱ πίτυες» ha̯i pítuĕs* --> _the pine-trees_
-Νouns in *«-ύς» -ús* > *«-ύες» -úĕs* e.g. *«ἡ Ἐρῑνύς» hē Ĕrīnús* --> _the Fury (the deity of vengeance)_ > *«αἱ Ἐρινύες» ha̯i Ĕrĭnúĕs* --> _the Furies_
-Nouns in *«-ῦς» -ûs* > *«-ύες» -úĕs* e.g. *«ἡ δρῦς» hē drûs* --> the oak-tree > *«αἱ δρύες» ha̯i drúĕs* --> the oak-trees
-Nouns in *«-ης» -ēs* > *«-ητες» -ētĕs* e.g. *«ἡ τραχύτης» hē trăkʰútēs* --> _the harshness_ > *«αἱ τραχύτητες» ha̯i trăkʰútētĕs* (nom. pl.)
-Nouns in *«-άς» -ás* > *«-άδες» -ádēs* e.g. *«ἡ ἀγελάς» hē ăgĕlás* --> _the cow_ > *«αἱ ἀγελάδες» ha̯i ăgĕládĕs *--> _the cows_
-Nouns (polysyllabic) in *«-ις» -ĭs* > *«-εις» -e̯is* > *«ἡ δύναμις» hē dúnamĭs* --> _the force_ > *«αἱ δυνάμεις» ha̯i dŭnáme̯is* --> _the forces_
-Nouns in *«-ώ» -ṓ* > *«-οί»-o̯í* e.g. *«ἡ λεχώ» hē lĕkʰṓ* --> _the woman who has just given birth_ > *«αἱ λεχοί» ha̯i lĕkʰo̯í* (nom. pl.)
-Nouns in *«-ών» -ṓn* > *«-όνες» -ónĕs* e.g. *«ἡ ἀηδών» hē ăēdṓn* --> _the nightingale_ > *«αἱ ἀηδόνες» ha̯i ăēdónĕs* --> _the nightingales_
-Attic Nouns in *««-ῦς» -ûs > «-ες» -ĕs e.g. «ἡ γραῦς» hē gra̯ûs --> the old woman > «αἱ γρᾶες» ha̯i grâĕs --> the old women *
-Nouns with ending the double consonant *«-ξ» -k͡s* > *«-ες» -ĕs* e.g. *«ἡ πτέρυξ» hē ptéruk͡s* --> _the wing_ > *«αἱ πτέρυγες» ha̯i ptérugĕs* --> _the wings_
-Nouns with single stem a dental consonant > *«-ες» -ĕs* e.g *«ἡ πατρίς» hē pătrís* (stem: *«-δ-» -d-*) --> _the fatherland_ > *«αἱ πατρίδες» ha̯i pătrídĕs* (nom. pl.)
-Nouns with single stem a nasal consonant > *«-ες» -ĕs* e.g *«ἡ ἀκτίς» hē ăktís* (stem: *«-ν-» -n-*) --> _the ray_ > *«αἱ ἀκτῖνες» ha̯i ăktînĕs* --> _the rays_

Neuter
-Nouns in *«-υ» -ŭ* > *«-υα» -ŭă* e.g. *«τὸ νᾶπυ» tò nâpŭ* --> _the mustard seed_ > *«τὰ νάπυα» tằ nā́pŭă* --> *the mustard seeds*
-Nouns in *«-α» -ă* > *«-ατα»* *-ată* e.g. *«τὸ κτῆμα» tò ktêmă* --> _the property_ > *«τὰ κτήματα» tằ ktḗmată* (nom. pl.)
-Nouns in *«-ᾱς» -ās* > *«-ᾱ» -ā* e.g. *«τὸ κρέᾱς» tò kréās* -->_ the meat_ > *«τὰ κρέᾱ» tằ kréā* (nom. pl.)
-Nouns in *«-ος» -ŏs* > *«-η» -ē* e.g. *«τὸ βέλος» tò bélŏs* --> _the arrow_ > *«tằ bélē* --> _the arrows_
-Αttic nouns in *«-υ» -ŭ* > *«-εα/-η» -ĕă* (uncontracted)/*-ē* (contracted) e.g. *«τὸ ἄστυ» tò ắstŭ* --> the city > *«τὰ ἄστεα/ἄστη» tằ ắstĕă* (uncontracted)/*ắstē* (contracted)
-Nouns with single stem the dental consonant *«-τ-» -t-* > *«-ατα»* *-ată* e.g *«τὸ τέρᾱς» tò térās* (stem: *«τέρατ- térat-*) --> _the monster_ > *«τὰ τέρατα» tằ térată* --> _the monsters_


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## Stoggler

My head hurts, apmoy!


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## spindlemoss

Red Arrow :D said:


> Dutch:* ster / sterren*



That's awesome!


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## KalAlbè

In Haitian Creole, it's just a matter of throwing the plural definite article *yo* at the end of the noun:

the* books → *_liv yo_
the* cars → *_machin __yo_


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## Stoggler

KalAlbè said:


> In Haitian Creole, it's just a matter of throwing the plural definite article *yo* at the end of the noun:
> 
> the* books → *_liv yo_
> the* cars → *_machin __yo_



That's interesting. Any idea what the origin of "yo" is?

In the English-based creoles Tok Pisin and Bislama, nouns are marked with the plural marker "ol" in front of the noun. It comes from the English word "all". The plural of beer, for example, is "ol bia".


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## KalAlbè

Stoggler said:


> That's interesting. Any idea what the origin of "yo" is?


I'm not quite sure of the origin of the word, but placing the article behind the noun can definitely be traced back to Africa.


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## Armas

Ilmo said:


> Finnish:
> The termination of nominative plural of Finnish nouns (and adjectives, too) is "-t". There can be, however, changes in the body of the word, and this concerns all the nouns ending with a consonant.
> Examples: house - houses = talo - talot
> shoe - shoes = kenkä - kengät
> horse - horses = hevonen - hevoset



-*t* is the the plural marker in the nominative, like Ilmo said, but in other cases is is -*i*-, or if between two vowels, -*j*-:

house "talo"
houses (nominative) "talo*t*"
houses (partitive) "talo*j*a" (sg. "taloa")
of houses "talo*j*en" (sg. "talon")
in houses "talo*i*ssa" (sg. "talossa")
from houses "talo*i*sta" (sg. "talosta")
etc.


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## luitzen

In Frisian it's in general -(e)s/-(e)n

Ding - dingen (thing - things)
Hûs - huzen (house - houses)
Man - mannen  (man - men)
Lân - lannen (land - lands) 
Ynstelling - ynstellings (setting - settings)
Flesse - flessen (bottle - bottles)

But there are also some exceptions such as:
Skiep - skiep (sheep - sheep)
Bern - bern (child - children)
Ko - kij (cow - cattle)


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## Nino83

Italian: 
nouns from the Latin 2nd declension (most masculine, very few feminine nouns): -o > -i (il muro > i muri (m.), la mano > le mani (f.)) 
nouns from the Latin 1st declension: feminine -a > -e (la rosa > le rose (f.)) masculine -a > -i (il poeta > i poeti) 
nouns from the Latin 3rd declension (both masculine and feminine): -e > -i (la volpe > le volpi (f.), il cane > i cani (m.))


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## bibax

Latin manus (f.) is a noun of 4th declension: manus dextra/manus dextrae;

feminine nouns of the 2nd declension: populus (f.) > pioppo/pioppi (m.), fagus (f.) > faggio/faggi (m.), etc.
but quercus (f.) > quercia/querce (also f.);


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## Nino83

@bibax 
The 2nd and 4th declensions merged during the imperial period of the Roman Empire. I don't know if it is better to simplify or to describe things with more accuracy (making them, at the same time, more complex). For the Latin plurals there's just the comment #11 which is very exaustive.


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