If you have been studying English for a while, you may know that that are different ways of changing the form of a word from its singular form to its plural form. But do you know what is the most weird (or weirdest, if you’re a conservative!) plural word in English? It doesn’t follow the usual rules at all!
Regular plural forms
Regular plural forms are usually formed with the addition of -s to the end of the word. They are called regular because we can predict their plural form by applying a specific rule. Sometimes, we have to make little changes to the rest of the word, though. Examples are:
- cat – cats
- dog – dogs
- house – houses
- fly – flies (the insect)
- class – classes
- hero – heroes
- leaf – leaves
Irregular plural forms
Irregular plural forms are usually formed very differently from their singular forms. They are called irregular because we can’t predict their plural form since there’s no rule to apply. Examples are:
- mouse – mice
- goose – geese
- tooth – teeth
- tooth – teeth
- man – men
- woman – women
- child – children
The MOST weird plural word in English
Now, there’s a specific plural word that is unique in English. It’s very different because, in a sense, we could say it’s both regular and irregular. Isn’t it weird?
The word we are talking about is the word PASSERBY, and its plural form is PASSERSBY. Weird, eh?
Have you noticed why we could consider it as being both regular and irregular? Regular, because we do add an -s to it. Irregular, because the place we add this morpheme is not at the end of the word but in the middle of it!
You should also be aware of the fact that the use of the form passerbys has become increasingly common throughout the years, although it is not officially recognized as a formal form yet. So, stick with our most weird plural word in English, and use passersby!
If you want more curiosities about the English language, click here!
