Page:The practice of typography; correct composition; a treatise on spelling, abbreviations, the compounding and division of words, the proper use of figures and nummerals by De Vinne, Theodore Low, 1828-1914.djvu/25



Changes from the singular to the plural in a proof negligently revised sometimes put upon a compositor the duty of making a proper plural. It is usually formed by adding s to the word in the singular number, as bamboo, bamboos; cameo, cameos; folio, folios; octavo, octavos. When the added s makes another syllable (as it does in hiss, hisses; sash, sashes), and sometimes when it does not (as in buffalo, buffaloes; potato, potatoes; negro, negroes; hero, heroes), es is added.

When the noun ends in y, preceded by a consonant, the y is changed in the plural to ies, as in dainty, dainties; pygmy, pygmies; spy, spies.

Some words ending in f or fe change the f for v in the plural, as half, halves; shelf, shelves; knife, knives. Fifes, proofs, and strifes are exceptions. Nouns in common use, derived from foreign languages, usually form their plurals according to the general English rule, as index, indexes; cherub, cherubs; formula, formulas; seraph, seraphs; beau, beaus; but in scientific writings the plurals should be formed according to the rules of the language from which the words have been derived, as in


 * appendix, appendices
 * beau, beaux
 * medium, media
 * formula, formulae
 * index, indices
 * cherub, cherubim
 * seraph, seraphim
 * vortex, vortices