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Copyright WordHippo © 2024

Eseys or Essays – Which is Correct?

  • by Sarah Thompson
  • March 3, 2024

Let’s have a conversation about the common mistake people make when writing the word “Essays.” Many individuals seem to get confused between “Eseys” and “Essays” and find themselves wondering which spelling is correct. Today, we will debunk this confusion and establish the correct spelling once and for all.

To address this issue, it is pertinent to emphasize that “Essays” is the correct spelling of the word. The incorrect term “Eseys” is a common misspelling resulting from a typographical error or a lack of familiarity with the correct spelling.

Now, let’s learn the reasons why “Essays” is the right spelling. Firstly, “Essays” is the plural form of the singular noun “Essay.” When we want to refer to more than one essay, we simply add an “s” to the end of the word. This is the conventional English rule for forming plurals of nouns, and it applies to “Essay” as well. For example, “I have written multiple essays on various topics.” Here, the correct plural form of “Essay” is used to convey the idea that the speaker has written more than one essay.

Moreover, we can also look at past forms of verbs to further solidify the correct spelling. For instance, the verb form of “Essay” is “Essayed.” “Essayed” is the past tense form, and by examining the conjugation of the verb, we can recognize that “Essays” is indeed the accurate plural form. You might say, “He essayed his thoughts on the subject,” to convey that someone expressed their ideas in the form of an essay.

To illustrate the incorrect spelling, “Eseys,” it is crucial to emphasize that this word does not exist in Standard English. It is a mistake that has often emerged due to a lack of knowledge or inattentiveness during writing. Therefore, it is essential to be attentive and avoid this misspelling in formal writing, as it may weaken your language skills and leave a negative impression on the reader.

In conclusion, we have effectively established that the correct spelling of the word referring to multiple essays is “Essays.” “Eseys” is an erroneous form that should be avoided. Remember, using proper grammar and spelling not only enhances your communication skills, but it also showcases your proficiency in the English language. So, the next time you find yourself unsure about whether to write “Eseys” or “Essays,” confidently choose the latter for an accurate and grammatically correct sentence!

So, keep practicing your writing skills, pay attention to proper grammar, and remember the correct spelling of “Essays.” With dedication and practice, you will become an exceptional writer and expert in the English language.

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Definition of essay

 (Entry 1 of 2)

Definition of essay  (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

  • composition

attempt , try , endeavor , essay , strive mean to make an effort to accomplish an end.

attempt stresses the initiation or beginning of an effort.

try is often close to attempt but may stress effort or experiment made in the hope of testing or proving something.

endeavor heightens the implications of exertion and difficulty.

essay implies difficulty but also suggests tentative trying or experimenting.

strive implies great exertion against great difficulty and specifically suggests persistent effort.

Examples of essay in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'essay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Middle French essai , ultimately from Late Latin exagium act of weighing, from Latin ex- + agere to drive — more at agent

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing essay

  • essay question
  • photo - essay

Articles Related to essay

alt 5a4412a517d28

To 'Essay' or 'Assay'?

You'll know the difference if you give it the old college essay

Dictionary Entries Near essay

Cite this entry.

“Essay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essay. Accessed 25 Sep. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of essay.

Kids Definition of essay  (Entry 2 of 2)

More from Merriam-Webster on essay

Nglish: Translation of essay for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of essay for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about essay

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American Psychological Association

Plural Nouns

In general, a noun is a person, place, or thing. A proper noun is a specialized name for a specific person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are always capitalized (e.g., “Crayola”). Nouns can be singular (i.e., only one) or plural (i.e., more than one).

To make a noun plural, add “s” (e.g., “dogs” is the plural form of “dog”), “es” (e.g., “boxes” is the plural form of “box”; add “es” to most nouns that end in “ch,” “s,” “sh,” “x,” and “z” to make them plural), and sometimes “ies” (e.g., “babies” is the plural form of “baby”; see the Notes section for exceptions to this grammar guideline ) to the end of the noun.

Irregular plural nouns , which include terms like “women,” “men,” “children,” “alumni,” “feet,” “mice,” “data,” and so forth, usually are not made plural by adding “s,” “es,” or “ies” to their endings. However, some irregular plural nouns have the same endings as regular plural nouns, such as “leaves,” “knives,” “analyses,” and “theses.”

Plural nouns are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Sections 4.18 and 6.11 and the Concise Guide Sections 2.18 and 5.1

the plural form for essay

Plural surnames

Usually, a surname is made plural by adding an “s” to the end of it (e.g., “Ayubis” is the plural form of the surname “Ayubi”), but there are exceptions. Add “es” to most surnames that end in “ch,” “s,” “sh,” “x,” and “z” to make them plural: for example, “Burch” becomes “Burches,” “Jones” becomes “Joneses,” “Nash” becomes “Nashes,” “Knox” becomes “Knoxes,” and “Hernández” becomes “Hernándezes.”  

However, if the “ch” at the end of a surname is pronounced with a hard “k,” like “Bach,” add “s” to the end of the surname to make it plural: “Bachs” (the same is true for common nouns ending in a hard “ch”: “stomachs”). Likewise, if the “x” at the end of a surname is silent, like “Rioux,” make the surname plural by adding an “s” to the end of the name: “Riouxs.”

Plural versus possessive

Although there are many unique ways to form plural nouns, please note that placing an apostrophe “s” or just an apostrophe after an “s” at the end of a noun is not one of them. “Tuesday’s” and “cat’s” are never the plurals of “Tuesday” and “cat”; the plurals are “Tuesdays” and “cats.” In general, an apostrophe “s” is used to form the possessive case of a noun .

Some nouns are spelled the same way in their singular form as they are in their plural form (e.g., “fish,” “moose,” “sheep”). Other nouns do not have a singular form and are always spelled in the plural form (e.g., “clothes,” “eyeglasses,” “scissors”). Conversely, some nouns do not have a plural form (e.g., “homework,” “milk,” “advice”).

Also, to make an abbreviation plural, add an “s” to the end of the abbreviation. For example, “HCP” is the abbreviation of “health care provider” and “HCPs” is its plural form.

The spelling guidelines on this page serve as general pluralization recommendations and are not comprehensive. They are not specific to APA Style and can be found in many dictionaries and other style guides. The APA Style Experts frequently consult the Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary for their spelling guidance .

Some common examples of nouns in their singular and plural forms are presented next.

Alex

Alexes

attorney

attorneys

branch

branches

bus

buses

case

cases

Choi

Chois

class

classes

deer

deer

Dietrich

Dietrichs

digital object identifier (DOI)

DOIs

family

families

fox

foxes

Goodrich

Goodriches

half

halves

hypothesis

hypotheses

influencer

influencers

Lacroix

Lacroixs

life

lives

Lopez

Lopezes

monarch

monarchs

patient

patients

person

people

phenomenon

phenomena

screenshot

screenshots

Smith

Smiths

theory

theories

tomato

tomatoes

tooth

teeth

Walsh

Walshes

waltz

waltzes

Williams

Williamses

wish

wishes

a “Attornies” is not the plural form of “attorney” because the letter that precedes the “y” is a vowel (i.e., an “e”) and not a consonant . In general, do not change nouns that end in “y” to “ies” to make them plural if the letter that precedes the “y” is a vowel; add an “s” to the end of the noun to make it plural.

b “Families” ends in “ies” because the letter that precedes the “y” in “family” is a consonant (i.e., an “l”). However, there are exceptions to this guidance. For example, “moneys” and “monies” are acceptable plural forms of “money.” When a term has more than one plural form, use your best judgment to determine which spelling is more appropriate to use in your work.

c The term “persons” is sometimes used in research settings to refer to groups of a specific number and in a legal context such as “missing persons” or “persons of interest.” Nevertheless, “people” is the preferred plural form of “person.”

d “Peoples” may be used to describe specific ethnic communities such as “Indigenous Peoples” or “First Peoples.”

  • 1.1 Pronunciation
  • 1.4 Anagrams
  • 2.1 Pronunciation

Pronunciation

  • IPA ( key ) : /ˈɛseɪz/
Audio ( ): ( )
  • IPA ( key ) : /ɛˈseɪz/
  • Rhymes: -eɪz
  • Hyphenation: es‧says
  • plural of essay
  • third-person singular simple present indicative of essay
  • Sesays , Sessay
Audio: ( )

the plural form for essay

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  • The plural form of essay ; more than one (kind of) essay.

Plain form

Third-person singular

Past tense

Past participle

Present participle

  • The third-person singular form of essay .

the plural form for essay

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Definition of essay noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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the plural form for essay

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Daily Writing Tips

The many forms of plurals.

Write my essay

Plurals take many (sometimes curious or counterintuitive) forms. Here is an outline of how to form various types of plurals according to the word form or ending:

For words ending in

  • nonsibilant, or voiceless, consonants: add -s ( dogs )
  • voiced, or sibilant, consonant blends: add -es ( riches )
  • vowels: add -s ( knees )
  • -f : delete -f and add -ves (loaves) or -s ( chiefs )
  • -x : add -es ( foxes )
  • -y : delete -y and add -ies ( bodies ).

For words of Latin or Greek origin ending in

  • -a : add -s or -e , depending on context ( formulas/formulae )
  • -ex : add -es or delete -x and add -ces , depending on context ( indexes/indices )
  • -ies : leave as is ( species )
  • -is : change to -es ( axes )
  • -ma : add -s or -ata , depending on context ( stigmas/stigmata )
  • -um : add -s ( aquariums ), delete -um and add -a ( curricula ), or either depending on context ( mediums/media )
  • -us : delete -us and add -i ( alumni ), -ii ( radii ), -era ( genera ), or -ora ( corpora ), or leave -us and add -es ( octopuses ) or use another form, depending on context ( cactuses/cacti ).

Types of irregular forms include

  • ablaut, or mutated, plurals, with changes in the midst of a word ( teeth , lice )
  • identical singular and plural forms ( deer , spacecraft )
  • -en and -ren endings ( oxen , children ).

Some words have more than one plural form, one of which may be archaic ( cows / kine ) or reserved for a distinct meaning ( dice / dies ).

One problematic category is in referring to fish in general and specific varieties of fish in particular: “Look at all the fish!” but “Gars are long, slender, predatory fishes.” Also, some types are given a distinct plural form ( sharks , barracudas ), though for others, the plural form is identical to the singular one ( salmon , sturgeon ).

Plurals of letters, numbers, or abbreviations are generally formed simply by adding -s , although occasionally, the otherwise incorrect use of an interceding apostrophe is warranted (“Mind your p’s and q’s”). Usually, however, pluralizing names of letters requires no special treatment, especially when the letter is italicized, as here: “There are five e s in beekeeper .” Initialisms and acronyms also usually require only an -s : “Many NGOs are headquartered here,” “It’s like having two NASAs.” (An exception is made when the last letter is an s , as in CMSes .)

The singular forms of some words are, because they end in -s , sometimes mistaken as plurals, and the letter is then incorrectly deleted to create a false singular form. Examples include gyros , kudos , and biceps (as well as triceps and quadriceps ). The plural forms are the same, although the latter examples are alternatively (and rarely) pluralized by adding -es . For other words, the original singular has been supplanted by a plural form used in both cases ( alga by algae ; graffito by graffiti ).

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the plural form for essay

20 thoughts on “The Many Forms of Plurals”

Interesting stuff. You missed out the words of Greek origin ending in -on, which take a plural in -a: eg criterion/criteria, phenomenon/phenomena. I see these used wrongly quite often.

By the way, I don’t see what’s wrong with “Mind your Ps and Qs”, which avoids the need for those ugly apostrophes.

In the -us item, your example for adding -ii is in error. For radius, the -us is deleted and it retains one -i, so only one additional is added.

Also, for “… five es in …”, ought the e be italicized in “es”?

‘One problematic category is in referring to fish in general and specific varieties of fish in particular: “Look at all the fish!” but “Gars are long, slender, predatory fishes.” ‘

I think it’s the other way round — fishes for more than one species, fish for a single species. So:

‘One problematic category is in referring to fishes in general and specific varieties of fish in particular: “Look at all the fishes!” but “Gars are long, slender, predatory fish.”’

I agree with Michael re: using capital letters to denote the name of the letter – it just reads more clearly.

Re: dice. I always thought it was one die, many dice… or has that now been classified as archaic?

And all this time I thought a group of Elvis Presley impersonators would be “Elvi” or maybe “Elvises.” But apparently they are “Elves.” Hmmmm. Not sure I can convert!

I would write the “es” as “Es” or even use another construction, such as: The letter e appears five times in beekeeper.

I do agree with Michael about the Ps and Qs. I don’t like apostrophes that aren’t replacing letters (as in contractions) or indicating possession. It’s a plural and to me, plurals don’t get apostrophes!

Just wanted to second the comment about radius only having one i added for the plural form, as the other i is already in the word. Great post though.

Staff (the group of people who support an office, department, etc.): plural = “staffs”

Staff (a rod or post): plural = “staves”

English is fun!

for stigma you would either add as -s *stigmas*, or a -ta *stigmata*. Not an -ata. No stigmaata.

don’t forget that a few ‘f’s’ do not take the ‘ves’ form – roof – plural form is roofs.

Also proof. The plural form is proofs or it drops an ‘o’ and becomes a verb proves.

Actually, I disagree with your explanation for knowing whether plurals end in -s or -es based on whether they are behind a voiced or unvoiced consonant. First of all, in your example “dogs”, the /g/ is a voiced consonant. (It’s unvoiced equivalent is /k/.) I think whether it is -s or -es depends on which part of the mouth is making the final consonant and how it is articulated: since /s/ and /z/ are both alveolar fricatives, meaning the tongue is placed on the alveolar ridge between the front teeth and the hard palate and the sound is created by pushing the air through a narrow channel (in this case that between the tongue and teeth). /ch/, /sh/, and both “j” sounds are all either fricatives or affricates (consonants that begin with a sound like /d/ or /t/ and end in a fricative) AND they are post-alveolar, meaning they are produced by putting the tongue at the back of the alveolar ridge. Since it is difficult to produce two very similar sounds in quick succession and have them still be distinct, we add a short vowel sound (represented by an “e”) in between the two consonants. Thus, any word that ends in /ch/, /sh/, /s/, /z/, or either “j” sound (all alveolar or post-alveolar, and fricative or affricate) is made plural by adding an -es to the end. If you ever need to know which to do and can’t remember the list of affected sounds, just remember that if it’s difficult to say when you add just an /s/ or /z/ sound and it doesn’t sound very clear, you probably need to put an “e” in front of the “s”.

Also worth noting is the fact that in words ending in the unvoiced “th” sound (such as “moth”), the final sound is usually changed to a voiced “th” such as the one in “the”: “moths”. (This is another reason why Americans are uncomfortable with “maths” instead of “math” as the abbreviation for “mathematics”; it just doesn’t sound quite like an English word to us.)

These “rules” aren’t very useful; especially for Latin/Greek words, they’re more likely wrong than right (you need to know which declension the word follows, and sometimes the gender; what letters it ends with doesn’t give you that. FWIW, the proper plural of “octopus” is “octopodes”). Also need to add Semitic plurals in -im, etc.

Also worth noting is the fact that in words ending in the unvoiced “th” sound (such as “moth”), the final sound is usually changed to a voiced “th” such as the one in “the”: “moths”.

Sounds like some sort of speech impediment. I pronounce “moths” exactly like “moth” (except for the final /s/).

Can you distinguish between “thistle” and “this’ll”?

Of course you can distinguish between the sounds, but for some reason or another in at least some dialects of English the unvoiced “th” is often changed to a voiced “th” when immediately followed by an /s/ or /z/ without any vowel in between. I realized that it’s actually the same principle as changing an /f/ to a /v/ when making some words plural that have a final /f/, since /v/ is the voiced form of /f/. The /f/ and /v/ sounds, and both “th” sounds, are all fricatives (though this time they use the lips and teeth) and maybe it’s natural for us to change the unvoiced fricatives to a voiced one when followed by an /s/ or /z/ sound with no vowel in between. Obviously you speak a slightly different dialect of English than I do to not change the unvoiced “th” to a voiced one. And I don’t have any sort of speech impediment, so I don’t appreciate your comment suggesting that. Your accent is not the authoritative one, and my accent does not involve a speech impediment.

I also thought it was pretty clear that my rule about changing some unvoiced sounds to voiced ones ONLY applied when they were immediately followed by an /s/ or /z/ sound; of course I pronounce “thistle” and “this’ll” differently. In fact, I admit that not every word that ends in the unvoiced “th” or /f/ will have the consonant change, but that SOME will, but that obviously in whatever Western American dialect I speak more words than not DO have the consonant change, and that that most other English dialects seems to have a similar, though not identical, pattern. (For example, someone else commented that the correct plural for “roof” is “roofs”, while I would say that to me the correct plural is “rooves”, at least in pronunciation.)

In regards to “medium/media”, I would say that media (at least in the context of visual art) is not a singular word, but that it is always “medium”, and that the plural can be either “media” or “mediums” (though “media” is more common). I couldn’t speak for other fields, though, or even all other artists, but this is the way I usually hear it used.

Am I the only one here who works out? There are singular forms for the muscles … bicep – … According to M-W ( and the dictionary on my computer … bicep is singular and biceps is plural.

And if you go to the gym, it’s bicep/biceps. Common usage usually wins out over neo-Latin hybrids. Even in English, we wouldn’t say “two-heads muscles”.

As for radius: radius |rādēəs|noun (pl. radii |ˈrādēˌī|or radiuses) …

Let me consult my medium about media? Hmmmm, she says when one brings in foreign words that we apply English rules to them … but that there are always a few latin-philes who keep on using the Latin plurals … and that media is a collective noun and it’s ok to use a singular verb with it (same for data).

And then there is Toyota with their completely screwed up plural for the Prius! They did it by vote and the ironic thing was that the proper Latin plural wasn’t even a choice. LMAO!

spacecraft |spāsˌkraft| noun (pl. same or -crafts)

gyro 1 |jīrō| noun (pl. -ros) short for gyroscope or gyrocompass . gyro 2 |yērō; zh irō| noun ( pl. -ros) a sandwich made with slices of spiced meat cooked on a spit, served with salad in pita bread.

Either way … it is gyro – gyros.

Kudos is the only one in that group that definitely has no singular form … as far as I know.

I agree with Keith … sounds to me like you have the fish-fishes byspel backwards.

Stick to your guns Emma and other Emmae. The rules you refer to are generally correct for American, anyway. Seems like some of the problems here just stem from a lack of understanding that national standards differ. You can say, “In American English it’s spelled color”, and invariabley someone will reply, “I don’t think that’s right. I’m from Worcestistashastashistashire (pronounced Wussa) and we spell it colour.”

Even bigger problems arise from those that just don’t believe there are any standards at all for these things. Or the standard is just whatever most people say. Most people don’t know data is plural? Oh, then it’s not plural. I guess just declaring wrong right is cheaper than educating people. I hope they arent adopting that standard for airplanes and bridges.

For example, from the online dictionary (not exactly pedantic): -ceps comb. form of caput “head” (see head). Despite the -s it is singular, and classicists insist there is no such word as bicep. I don’t know about classicists, but as a normally educated person, I knew this already. Is this really difficult?

These “rules” aren’t very useful; especially for Latin/Greek words, they’re more likely wrong than right

You have a point, but a limited one. Regardless of how plurals were actually formed in Greek or Latin (declensions? Are you serious? lol) conventions have formed in various arenas regarding how the “pseudo-Latin/Greek” plurals are formed for terms of art. In mathematics, e.g., the plural of formula is formulae, among zoologists 2 or more are octopi. Among normal people they are, of course, formulas and octopuses. No need to go wildly romanizing words that have been English for so many anni, annis…pardon while I declent…annos, annorum…

This is odd. First:

Also worth noting is the fact that in words ending in the unvoiced “th” sound (such as “moth”), the final sound is usually changed to a voiced “th”

Can you distinguish between “thistle” and “this’ll”?

Well, yeah. Can you distinguish between word endings and word beginnings? Weird.

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english plurals

I have a love/hate relationship with the English language. I love writing and communicating ideas to fellow readers. I (sometimes) hate all the weird rules.

Take plurals, for instance. English has many strange plural words that defy rules or make their own. In this article, we'll cover several tricky plurals (such as "moose" and "moose") and do our best to explain how they work. I hope it drives your love/hate relationship more toward the former!

Regular Plurals

You probably don't need our help with these. For most words, simply add an "s" to the end of the singular form to make a plural. For instance:

Singular: paper / Plural: paper s

Singular: cat / Plural: cat s

Singular: tree / Plural: tree s

Easy enough. Things get slightly complicated when the word already ends with an "s," or with a "ch," "sh," "x," or "z." In this case, it's often correct to add "es" instead:

Singular: grass / Plural: grass es

Singular: bench / Plural: bench es

Singular: radish / Plural: radish es

What about words like "memory"? To pluralize a word ending in a consonant and the letter "y," replace the "y" with "ies":

Singular: memory / Plural: memor ies

Singular: baby / Plural: bab ies

Singular: glory / Plural: glor ies

Now let's advance to the truly tricky stuff.

Irregular Plurals

irregular plurals

As the name implies, irregular plurals don't follow the rules of their regular counterparts. The best way to learn these is to memorize them. Here are a few examples:

Calf and Calves

One might think calfs is the right word, but it's actually cal ves . There are a few others with a similar construction, including leaf and lea ves , knife and kni ves , and life and li ves .

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Hoof and hoofs (or hooves).

Some irregular plurals are actually acceptable in multiple forms, as in the case of the word hoof . The logical plural hoof s actually works here. Yet using hoo ves is also valid. As the writer, it's your choice which you use, so long as you're consistent.

Just don't get tripped up with words that sound similar. For example, hooves is an acceptable plural of hoof . However, prooves is not the plural of proof . The correct plural is proof s . It's just one of those things you have to remember (though ProWritingAid's homonym report can help).

Person and People

This is certainly one of the stranger ones on this list. The preferred plural of person is not persons . It's people .

However, you've probably heard the word persons used before, such as in the phrase "Missing Persons Case." That's because persons is a formal version of the plural and therefore used almost exclusively in legal settings. So unless you're a law enforcement official, you should opt for people .

What about peoples ? In the words of Jane Mairs , Director of English Language Learning Publishing, "the only time you will want to use the word 'peoples' is when you are referring to groups of people from multiple ethnic, cultural, racial, or national backgrounds." For example:

"The American people." (We use people because we're referring only to Americans.)

"The American, Chinese, Mexican, and English peoples." (We use peoples because we're referring to many folks from many countries.)

Latin and Greek Plurals

There are a few tricky holdovers from these languages that have remained in English. A few examples:

Stimulus and Stimuli

There's no such word as stimuluses (even though that would make logical sense). According to our Ancient Greek friends, the proper plural is stimuli .

Genus and Genera

Again, you'd probably guess that the plural form of genus would be genuses . However, it's actually genera . Fortunately, if you're not a scientist, this probably won't be a concern too often.

Alumnus and Alumni

This one came up when I revisited my alma mater the other day. When asked for the reason for my visit, I said, "I'm an alumni." I feared I'd botched it and, sure enough, I had.

What I should've said was, "I'm an alumnus ." That's the singular form for male graduates. For female graduates, the generally accepted form is alumna . The plural form for both is alumni . So if my wife had been there as well, she would've said, "I'm an alumna," or, "We're alumni."

As if that wasn't tricky enough, there's also another plural form for a group of graduates who are all women. It's alumnae . So if my wife was with a female friend who graduated from the same school, she would've said, "We're alumnae."

So to reiterate: alumni can refer to a group of all-male graduates or a group of both men and women. Alumnae can refer only to a group of all-female graduates. If there's even one dude in there, you'd use alumni .

invariants

Many animals use the same word for both their singular and plural form. Thanks, animals! These are called invariants. For example, "I saw a moose " is correct, as is, "I saw several moose ." Mooses , meese , and moocices are not real words. Here are some others that fit this category:

Miscellaneous Weird Plurals

Ox and oxen.

Logic rarely factors into English. Therefore, the plural of ox is not oxes . It's oxen ! You probably knew that one if you're a fan of the Oregon Trail computer games.

Fox and Foxes

Since fox rhymes with ox , you might think the plural of fox would be foxen . It's not! The plural of fox is foxes . I made this error several times and felt silly for doing so.

Data and Datas(?)

There's a constant debate over the plural form of data . Is it datas ? Is datas even a word?

First of all, data is already a plural word; its singular companion is datum —or was. Unless you're in a technical field, that singular has been largely abandoned. Instead, most grammarians accept data as both a singular and plural form.

So what about the word datas ? It's mostly a matter of opinion. Though some use datas as a plural, others oppose the word. It seems most authorities agree that the preferred form for both singular and plural is data , and that it should be never used with the indefinite article ("a"). Easy to remember, since sentences like "I found a data I think you should see" just sound weird.

If you're still confused, I found this article immensely helpful when researching the topic myself. Check it out!

What are some tricky plurals we missed? Let us know in the comments below!

Common Questions about Plurals

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Essay Plural, What is the Plural of Essay?

Meaning: a short piece of writing on a particular subject.

Plural of Essay

Essay Essays
  • dissertation

Essay as a Singular Noun in Example Sentences:

  • She submitted her essay before the deadline.
  • The student received an A+ on his essay .
  • The teacher assigned a persuasive essay for the assignment.
  • He spent hours researching and writing the essay .
  • The essay explored the theme of identity in literature.
  • The scholarship required a well-written essay on a specific topic.
  • The university professor provided feedback on the essay .
  • The essay was published in a renowned academic journal.

Essay as a Plural Noun in Example Sentences:

  • The students submitted their essays for grading.
  • The conference received numerous essays from scholars around the world.
  • The collection of essays covered a wide range of topics.
  • The professor assigned weekly essays to encourage critical thinking.
  • The finalists presented their essays in front of the audience.
  • The anthology included essays from various renowned authors.
  • The competition aimed to recognize outstanding essays on social issues.
  • The workshop focused on refining students’ persuasive essays .

Singular Possessive of Essay:

The singular possessive form of “Essay” is “Essay’s”.

Examples of Singular Possessive Form of Essay:

  • I need to read Essay’s conclusion.
  • The topic of Essay’s first paragraph is intriguing.
  • Have you seen Essay’s thesis statement?
  • I appreciate Essay’s insightful analysis.
  • The structure of Essay’s body paragraphs is clear.
  • Essay’s introduction captures the reader’s attention.
  • I admire Essay’s coherent argumentation.
  • Essay’s conclusion summarizes the main points.
  • Can you provide me with Essay’s bibliography?
  • The evidence in Essay’s supporting paragraphs is compelling.

Plural Possessive of Essay:

The plural possessive form of “Essay” is “Essays'”.

Examples of Plural Possessive Form of Essay:

  • I need to read the Essays’ conclusions.
  • The topics of the Essays’ first paragraphs are diverse.
  • Have you seen the Essays’ thesis statements?
  • I appreciate the Essays’ insightful analyses.
  • The structures of the Essays’ body paragraphs are well-organized.
  • The Essays’ introductions engage the readers effectively.
  • I admire the Essays’ coherent argumentations.
  • The Essays’ conclusions summarize the main points eloquently.
  • Can you provide me with the Essays’ bibliographies?
  • The evidence in the Essays’ supporting paragraphs is substantial.

Explore Related Nouns:

  • Complete List of Singular Plurals

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COMMENTS

  1. What is the plural of essay

    The plural form of essay is essays. Find more words! Another word for Opposite of Meaning of Rhymes with Sentences with Find word forms Translate from English Translate to English Words With Friends Scrabble Crossword / Codeword Words starting with Words ending with Words containing exactly Words containing letters Pronounce Find conjugations ...

  2. ESSAY definition and meaning

    essay in British English. noun (ˈɛseɪ , for senses 2, 3 also ɛˈseɪ ) 1. a short literary composition dealing with a subject analytically or speculatively. 2. an attempt or endeavour; effort. 3. a test or trial.

  3. essay

    essay (third-person singular simple present essays, present participle essaying, simple past and past participle essayed) (dated, transitive) To attempt or try. 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter II, in The House Behind the Cedars: He retraced his steps to the front gate, which he essayed to open.

  4. Eseys or Essays

    Firstly, "Essays" is the plural form of the singular noun "Essay." When we want to refer to more than one essay, we simply add an "s" to the end of the word. This is the conventional English rule for forming plurals of nouns, and it applies to "Essay" as well. For example, "I have written multiple essays on various topics."

  5. Essay Definition & Meaning

    The meaning of ESSAY is an analytic or interpretative literary composition usually dealing with its subject from a limited or personal point of view. How to use essay in a sentence. ... Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide. The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.' More Commonly Misspelled Words. Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway. See All.

  6. Plural Nouns

    a "Attornies" is not the plural form of "attorney" because the letter that precedes the "y" is a vowel (i.e., an "e") and not a consonant.In general, do not change nouns that end in "y" to "ies" to make them plural if the letter that precedes the "y" is a vowel; add an "s" to the end of the noun to make it plural.

  7. essay noun

    essay (by somebody) a collection of essays by prominent African American writers; essay on somebody/something The book contains a number of interesting essays on women in society. essay about somebody/something Pierce contributes a long essay about John F. Kennedy. in an essay I discuss this in a forthcoming essay.

  8. Essays Definition & Meaning

    Essays definition: Plural form of essay. . In the youthful Dutch universities the effect of the essays was greater.

  9. essay

    Plural essays. Writing that looks at an issue or subject. Each student had to write an essay on his favorite author. Related words [change] essayist; Verb [change] Plain form essay. Third-person singular essays. Past tense essayed. Past participle essayed. Present participle essaying (transitive) To try. (intransitive) To move forth, as into ...

  10. essays

    essays. plural of essay. Categories: English 2-syllable words. English terms with IPA pronunciation. English terms with audio links. Rhymes:English/eɪz. Rhymes:English/eɪz/2 syllables. English non-lemma forms.

  11. essays

    Retrieved from "https://simple.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=essays&oldid=410108"

  12. Essay Definition & Meaning

    Essay definition: A testing or trial of the value or nature of a thing.

  13. essay noun

    Definition of essay noun in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

  14. What Is a Plural Noun?

    A plural noun is a noun that refers to more than one of something (as opposed to a singular noun, which refers to just one). Like singular nouns, they may refer to people, animals, things, concepts, or places. Plural nouns are normally formed by adding -s to the singular noun (e.g., the singular "cat" becomes the plural "cats").

  15. Essay Definition & Meaning

    1 essay / ˈ ɛˌseɪ/ noun. plural essays. Britannica Dictionary definition of ESSAY. [count] : a short piece of writing that tells a person's thoughts or opinions about a subject. Your assignment is to write a 500-word essay on one of Shakespeare's sonnets. The book is a collection of his previously unpublished essays on/about a variety of ...

  16. What Are Plural Nouns? Rules and Examples

    Updated on October 18, 2022 Grammar. A plural noun is a noun that refers to more than one person, place, thing, or idea. Most singular nouns are made plural by adding a suffix, usually - s or - es. For example, the singular noun dog takes the plural form dogs, as in three dogs. However, there are irregular plural nouns that take unique forms.

  17. ESSAY

    ESSAY definition: 1. a short piece of writing on a particular subject, especially one done by students as part of the…. Learn more.

  18. ESSAY

    ESSAY meaning: 1. a short piece of writing on a particular subject, especially one done by students as part of the…. Learn more.

  19. The Many Forms of Plurals

    Plurals take many (sometimes curious or counterintuitive) forms. Here is an outline of how to form various types of plurals according to the word form or ending: For words ending in. -y: delete -y and add -ies (bodies). For words of Latin or Greek origin ending in. -us: delete -us and add -i (alumni), -ii (radii), -era (genera), or -ora ...

  20. Plurals

    Regular Plurals. You probably don't need our help with these. For most words, simply add an "s" to the end of the singular form to make a plural. For instance: Singular: paper / Plural: papers. Singular: cat / Plural: cats. Singular: tree / Plural: trees. Easy enough.

  21. Essay

    John Locke's 1690 An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. The word essay derives from the French infinitive essayer, "to try" or "to attempt".In English essay first meant "a trial" or "an attempt", and this is still an alternative meaning. The Frenchman Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was the first author to describe his work as essays; he used the term to characterize these as "attempts ...

  22. Irregular Plural Nouns—Word Patterns and Tips

    Grammarly. Updated on May 17, 2023 Grammar. Irregular plural nouns are nouns that do not become plural by adding -s or -es, as most nouns in the English language do. You're probably familiar with many of these already. For example, the plural form of man is men, not mans. The plural form of woman is women, not womans.

  23. Essay Plural, What is the Plural of Essay?

    Meaning: a short piece of writing on a particular subject. Plural of Essay Singular Plural Essay Essays Synonyms article study piece paper manuscript dissertation discussion thesis Essay as a Singular Noun in Example Sentences: She submitted her essay before the deadline. The student received an A+ on his essay. The teacher assigned a persuasive essay for the assignment. He spent hours ...