Cerca tra vari insegnanti di Inglese...
Davide
What's the plural form of octopus? Is it octopi? It doesn't make sense, at all
31 mar 2017 09:36
Risposte · 9
1
Hi Davide,
There are some English words which end with the letters "us".
Examples are: radius / syllabus / octopus / cactus. These are singular nouns.
When we use the plural forms of these aforementioned words, they become:
Radii (or Radiuses) / Syllabi (or Syllabuses) / Octopus (or Octopi) / Cacti (or Cactuses).
The "us" is replaced with "i". Alternatively, "es" can be added to the singular noun.
As Darryl rightly pointed out, there are many exceptions to the rule in English.
Many singular nouns that end with "us" cannot be transformed to the plural form by using "i".
Example: Bus --> Buses (right) / Busi (Wrong)
Campus --> Campuses (right) / Campi (Wrong)
Hope this helps.
Cheers, Lance
31 marzo 2017
1
From what I read online, both are fine. In casual speak however, people tend to want "octopus" even when referring to its plural form. (yeah… I know. But saying "Octopuses" is too long and clumsy for some)
There are way too many exceptions in English, so just do what everyone else in love with the language will do: just accept it for what it is, quirks and all.
31 marzo 2017
Non hai ancora trovato le tue risposte?
Scrivi le tue domande e lascia che i madrelingua ti aiutino!
Davide
Competenze linguistiche
Inglese, Italiano, Svedese
Lingua di apprendimento
Inglese, Svedese
Altri articoli che potrebbero piacerti

Same Word, Different Meaning: American, British, and South African English
18 consensi · 14 Commenti

How to Sound Confident in English (Even When You’re Nervous)
15 consensi · 12 Commenti

Marketing Vocabulary and Phrases for Business English Learners
12 consensi · 6 Commenti
Altri articoli
