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Irregular Plurals Quiz #1

Don't just add an S! Guess the plural forms of these words.
Some of these words can be pluralized by just adding an S. Be more creative!
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Featured Quiz
Last updated: May 15, 2014
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First submittedAugust 2, 2011
Times taken115,172
Average score62.5%
Rating4.45
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Singular
Plural
Calf
Calves
Chateau
Chateaux
Crisis
Crises
Moose
Moose
Nucleus
Nuclei
Court martial
Courts martial
Mouse
Mice
Matrix
Matrices
Singular
Plural
Genus
Genera
Radius
Radii
Seraph
Seraphim
Man
Men
Ox
Oxen
Child
Children
Axis
Axes
Millennium
Millennia
Singular
Plural
Stigma
Stigmata
Nebula
Nebulae
Phalanx
Phalanges
Potato
Potatoes
Poltergeist
Poltergeister
Alumna
Alumnae
Appendix
Appendices
Louse
Lice
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107 Recent Comments
DorkmeisterBlu
+52
Level 73
May 20, 2014
A little bit of Latin in my life, a little bit of ancient Greek by my side, a little bit of German's what I need, a little bit of old English's what I see...
Arp2600
+2
Level 87
May 20, 2014
And french.
babbaloo7
+1
Level 50
May 20, 2014
A prime example of where the LIKE button would be used :)
skiesboy
+1
Level 65
Apr 30, 2015
Oh for a like button, that was brilliant
rocknrollgirl59
+7
Level 35
Jan 5, 2018
Please tell me someone else sang that comment? ;)
Sifhraven
+1
Level 72
Jun 13, 2019
Well, I didnt sing... but did get the melody in my head while reading it :)
divantilya
+2
Level 36
Oct 12, 2018
^ There's a saying in my native language that when translated means: "My Mother is English, My Father is French, but I am Portuguese." - Quite apropos for this chain!
vittoriaa
+1
Level 38
Jan 9, 2021
ahahhaha pretty much yes
orange3472
+1
Level 67
Apr 10, 2024
Blu Bega in da house!
Aelzqlus
+1
Level 44
Oct 31, 2024
🎶Etymology number 5!
ander217
+2
Level 74
May 20, 2014
Good one to get the brain working in the morning.
irish41
+2
Level 59
May 20, 2014
I typed "Phalange" but didn't add the S! Thanks a lot, Phoebe Buffay.
TheQuizzler
+2
Level 64
May 20, 2014
Very cool quiz! Hoping for a sequel!
mmckenzie8
+7
Level 34
May 20, 2014
Can you please accept close spellings of millennia? I tried a million times and couldn't get it! Also would alumni not be a correct plural? Thanks :)
Gartholomew
+8
Level 46
May 20, 2014
The word millennium is right there in front of you. Couldn't anyone just copy the spelling and change the "um" to an "a"?? Why should different spellings be accepted?
vittoriaa
+8
Level 38
Jan 9, 2021
alumni is the plural of alumnus, or alumnus AND alumna
bigvbdude
+4
Level 95
Nov 19, 2021
The word is "alumna", which is a female graduate. Alumnus is particularly a male graduate, but has taken on the meaning of any graduate. So the plural of "alumna" should be "alumnae." But I agree that "alumni" should be acceptable.
plattitude
+10
Level 94
May 20, 2014
I'd argue that Courts Martial isn't an irregular plural, just a case where people often mistakenly try to pluralize the wrong word, similar to Eggs Benedict, Books of Mormon, etc.
Moosefight
+2
Level 60
May 20, 2014
I was going to say the same thing. Except I would have used editors in chief as my example.
JHB104675
+3
Level 29
May 23, 2014
Agree. Regular Plural. In compound nouns, you pluralise the principal word... Courts Martial.... other examples to the already mentioned.. Attorneys General, Governors General, Ladies in waiting, Passers-by, sons/daughters in law.
kitshef
+3
Level 85
Jul 24, 2014
And then there is the case of femmes fatales...
vittoriaa
+4
Level 38
Jan 9, 2021
because that is french and in french if you have a plural noun the adjective is plural too
dunkinggandalf2
+1
Level 69
Aug 22, 2023
Depends! In this case, yes, because each of the "femmes" is "fatale" in her own right, but there are counter-examples. For instance, several rainbows (arc-en-ciel) are "arcs-en-ciel", because while there's several arches, there's still only one sky.
dunkinggandalf2
+1
Level 69
Aug 22, 2023
Pluralisation of compound words is one of the things French people get wrong all the time.
Glitschko56
+18
Level 58
May 20, 2014
Fun fact: in olde english 'n' was used instead of 's' for plurals; hence oxen,children, brethren etc.
eric29cocoanuts
+3
Level 76
May 20, 2014
Now THAT is a fascinating fun fact. I had no idea. Thank you, Glitschko56!
ColoHarpare
+1
Level 50
May 26, 2014
Interesting! And some Scandinavian words still use 'n' for plural. Most use 'r', though, which got me through this with 100%!
smartcookie17
+1
Level 45
Jun 16, 2014
Here's another fun fact: In fact, in Olde English, there was no 'th' sound, so they used 'y' instead. So instead of Ye Olde... etc., like you see so often in pop culture, it's actually pronounced 'The Olde'...!
Corrode
+4
Level 60
Apr 1, 2016
It's not the sound, it's the letter. Thorn which became a Y for space saving in printing.
dasubergeek
+7
Level 74
May 19, 2016
Um, no. The letters thorn (Þþ) and edh (Ðð) were dropped from English centuries ago, but the sounds were still there. There used to be a T-V distinction in English (kind of like tú/usted in Spanish or tu/vous in French). Thou, thee, and thy were the informal and you, ye, and your were formal (and also plural, again, like French vous). But at some point we stopped using the informals except when talking to God, whereas in Icelandic we stopped using the formal þér ("thyer") and started using the informal þú ("thoo") for everyone. But there absolutely was a "th" sound in Old English, which you can see by reading Beowulf. "Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum, þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon."
divantilya
+1
Level 36
Apr 21, 2018
Thank you, Smartcookie17. I never knew that. I learned the correct pluralization of those words (oxen, etc.) but never knew where they came from. It's easy to guess Latin, French and even Greek derivatives, but English ones are another matter.
Relox84
+1
Level 69
Nov 12, 2021
For some plurals (mostly weak nouns). Invariable plurals were also common (and some stuck around, like sheep and craft), but even in Old English the most common plural suffix was already -es.
lolrobbielol
+2
Level 53
May 20, 2014
Would argue that some of these aren't really irregular at all, but still fun quiz. Studying linguistics helps.
mightythor
+1
Level 66
May 20, 2014
Plural of "potato" can be "potatos" or "potatoes". Same with "tomato".
Mogysht
+6
Level 50
May 20, 2014
No, they can't be.
nanook
+4
Level 51
May 24, 2014
NO THEY CAN'T!!! Just because you've seen them! Have you ever heard of the grocer's apostrophe?
CaptainUnderpant
+1
Level 80
Aug 27, 2023
What does the grocer's apostrophe have to do with misspelling "potatoes"?
smartcookie17
+3
Level 45
Jun 16, 2014
No, but I've heard of the baker's dozen! XD
TheMitskiCrave
+2
Level 57
Feb 9, 2022
imagine being a linguistic prescriptivist. couldn't be me 🥱
aljmanlm
+1
Level 61
Oct 25, 2024
I mean is that not kind of the point of a quiz like this
sillie
+1
Level 76
Apr 22, 2016
Greengrocer's apostrophe. Never heard it called just grocer's apostrophe.
Roger77024
+4
Level 57
May 19, 2016
Only if your name is Dan Quayle.
divantilya
+3
Level 36
Oct 12, 2018
Mightythor: The plural of "potato" is potatoes, and of "tomato": tomatoes. You aren't related to Dan Quayle by any chance, are you?
IsleAuHaulte
+2
Level 90
Jan 1, 2019
I came to the Comments just to see how many there would be for this. Not shabby I guess.
Gaia
+1
Level 42
May 20, 2014
Nice quiz!!
nanook
+2
Level 51
May 24, 2014
Most of these words are not irregular at all, some are taken from a foreign language and some follow basic rules IE calf, potato. It should have contained more words of the "moose" variety, IE sheep, cannon, child etc.
smartcookie17
+10
Level 45
Jun 16, 2014
I always wished that it was 'meese'. More fun to say.
PrinceEric
+3
Level 56
May 25, 2016
And beeb.
CaptainUnderpant
+1
Level 80
Aug 27, 2023
I'm not sure beeb is more fun to say
RobNobody
+1
Level 78
Jun 6, 2018
Not for nothing, but "moose" also comes from a foreign language. Algonquin, to be specific.
emwcee
+3
Level 46
Jul 16, 2014
I kept trying to put alumni. But I guess that is only the plural of alumnus.
TLM
+5
Level 43
Apr 22, 2016
I was hoping the answer was "more than one poltergeist" ...haha...J/K! Fun quiz!
Olinguito
+1
Level 45
Apr 22, 2016
Eeeaaasy, way too easy! 100% with 2:53 to go.
ayjayh
+2
Level 67
May 19, 2016
"Court-martial" and "courts-martial" should both by hyphenated. In fairness, the answer box accepts "courts-martial" as a correct answer, but "court martial" without the hyphen is INcorrect.
RobNobody
+2
Level 78
Oct 1, 2018
Jetpunk ignores all punctuation in the answer box, so there would be no way to mark "courts martial" incorrect while keeping "courts-martial" correct.
Sifhraven
+2
Level 72
Jun 13, 2019
It is not impossible to use punctuation on jetpunk, so the answer could still be displayed with the hyphen in the answerbox..
quizwhizz
+1
Level 69
May 19, 2016
Auto correct is a great cheat for this quiz...
Duzza
+5
Level 32
May 20, 2016
Phalanx should be changed, it has two meanings, a finger bone, for which the plural is Phalanges, and a regiment of infantry in an ancient Greek army, for which the plural is Phalanxes. At the very least, Phalanxes should also be accepted
Marvo7
+2
Level 61
Nov 27, 2020
Exactly!
MrMagoo
+1
Level 84
Aug 21, 2023
Agreed
Panifex
+1
Level 28
May 21, 2016
100% with 3:07 remaining! I find it odd that more people got mice than men or children.
nightmare
+3
Level 67
May 21, 2016
For anyone who speaks french chateau/chateaux is anything but irregular
Kwizzer575
+1
Level 16
Oct 25, 2016
100% 1st go
Malbaby
+1
Level 70
Aug 30, 2017
Did anyone think of the Movie "Vice Versa" (1988) where there is an argument as to the plural of Moose being Mice?
Wickedangel
+1
Level 23
Dec 3, 2017
Chateau is fully French I don’t think it would/should be in an English dictionary
Pharley
+4
Level 74
Jun 1, 2018
Why not? It's used in the English language.
RobNobody
+3
Level 78
Oct 1, 2018
And yet, there it is. English would lose a startling amount of its vocabulary if we eliminated words that were pilfered from other languages.
Sifhraven
+3
Level 72
Jun 13, 2019
Most languages are full of loanwords, some get adapted others stay just as they are.
growltiger
+1
Level 34
Apr 11, 2018
Also milleniums is permissable according to grammarist.com/plurals/millennia-vs-millenniums/
Quizmaster
+5
Level ∞
Nov 21, 2020
"Some of these words can be pluralized by just adding an S. Be more creative!"
DewgongFTW
+2
Level 25
Jun 6, 2018
Potatoes aren't even Irregular plurals.
rtabram
+5
Level 59
Oct 1, 2018
If it was a regular plural, the proper spelling would be potatos (no E).
Sifhraven
+1
Level 72
Jun 13, 2019
Not bad ! Only missed seraphim and genera, and seraphim is a "duh-moment" when I see it. Genera does not look familiar at all!

Cool quiz :)

CardinalSin
+2
Level 79
Dec 14, 2019
I learnt something today. I kept trying Alumni and finally guessed Alumnae. Looked it up and learnt that the former is male, the latter female.
Yeoryios
+4
Level 72
Dec 14, 2019
Medium and Media is another good one!
redsplat
+2
Level 73
Mar 16, 2021
And datum and data.
TheRatmeister
+6
Level 87
Dec 14, 2019
Please accept "meese" because it's funny.
PitifulExcuse
+1
Level 64
Mar 5, 2024
it's not that funny
Onyekachukwu
+1
Level 49
Jan 30, 2020
i seriously just didn't register that "mouse" was a word and I just completely blanked and i realized that im stupid lmao
TheRealGrantma
+1
Level 55
Sep 14, 2020
Was i the only one who got poltergeister?
BelgianFries
+1
Level 47
Nov 15, 2020
I was super confused on that one too, so I looked it up. I brought up Google Dictionary and it said the plural of "poltergeist" was "poltergeistS" a poltergeister is someone who is doing the poltergeist.
BelgianFries
+1
Level 47
Nov 15, 2020
Wait, Google Dictionary says Poltergeister isn't even a word.
Quizmaster
+5
Level ∞
Nov 21, 2020
Google is not a reference authority.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/poltergeister

Nathaniel
+1
Level 75
Nov 27, 2020
Since Jesus uses the Latin genitive (Jesu), would it also use the Latin dative (Jeso) and accusative (Jesum) and the Latin plural (Jesi)?
Marvo7
+1
Level 61
Nov 27, 2020
Yes it would, but how many Jesuses do you know!?
redsplat
+2
Level 73
Mar 16, 2021
I know many. It's a common first name in some parts of the world.
Relox84
+1
Level 69
Nov 12, 2021
Actually, Jesus in Latin has an irregular declension which looks mostly like the 4th declension (the irregularity is due to Latin copying the Greek declension pattern, not unlike what English does with many of the words on this quiz): based on that, a hypothetical plural would either be Jesi (based on the also hypothetical Greek plural) or Jesus (following 4th declension Latin nouns).
Marvo7
+2
Level 61
Nov 27, 2020
They're all normal regular plurals from German, Greek, Latin, French, Hebrew etc.. And the ones that aren't are old English plurals. That they made it to English dictionaries has to do with how dictionary compilers work these days, but they belong truly with their original languages.
CaptainUnderpant
+1
Level 80
Aug 27, 2023
Sheesh, those damn dictionary compilers, we should probably overthrow them and give all the words back to their original languages
JackintheBox
+1
Level 80
Nov 27, 2020
Got all but Genera!!
joez
+4
Level 74
Nov 27, 2020
I hate meeces to pieces.
redsplat
+3
Level 73
Mar 16, 2021
More for me then. Pieces of meeses are delicious.
lucasgairns
+3
Level 65
Nov 27, 2020
Ask any Canadian, the plural of moose is meese. Get your facts straight:)
CaptainUnderpant
+1
Level 80
Aug 27, 2023
Ask any moose, the plural of Canadian is Canadii. Fact your straights get :(
kayokayokayo
+1
Level 55
Nov 27, 2020
Spelling errors cost me 4 or 5 answers.
JPR
+2
Level 41
Nov 29, 2020
If I did lousy on more than one can I say I did licey?
ChallengeMaster
+1
Level 27
Jul 2, 2021
People say latin is a dead language. Yet examples are shown in this.

-is turns into -es (like ship (navis) and ships (naves))

-ae is also added (accusative plural (?) Like girl (puella) and girls (puellae)

Relox84
+1
Level 69
Nov 12, 2021
-is to -es, -a to ae, -us to -i, -um to -a etc. with some irregularities. This is for the nominative case - the accusative forms are generally different. I fail to see what this has to do with Latin being a dead language, however.
Xtrordinary
+1
Level 68
Sep 17, 2024
No it isn't, all of these are English words
Aoto327
+1
Level 75
Aug 21, 2023
22/24. I didn’t know “seraphim” and “phalanges,” but I knew “poltergeister” and “genera” because I know German and Latin.
QuizApe
+1
Level 68
Aug 21, 2023
Goose; Geese

Moose; Meese

Shoop; Sheep

CaptainUnderpant
+1
Level 80
Aug 27, 2023
Just wait, in 20 years these will all be acceptable and in the dictionary and it won't be funny anymore
jacobnanquil
+1
Level 51
Aug 23, 2023
Feeling so slay because I'm in the 10% that got "genera" correct
CaptainUnderpant
+1
Level 80
Aug 27, 2023
slay
poisongift
+1
Level 60
Sep 25, 2023
"Courts martial" doesn't really belong on this list. "Courts" is a totally normal plural form, and "martial" in this context is just a postpositive adjective.
brandybuck96
+1
Level 83
Apr 10, 2024
I mean, postpositive adjectives aren't exactly regular in English.
Terrath
+2
Level 28
Apr 25, 2024
Add meese for moose please.
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