English plurals are usually easy to form. We can add -s to the end of the singular word, e.g.: chair (singular) or two chairs (plural). But, like almost all of the rules in English grammar, there are exceptions for the plural form of some nouns. Here is a list of the confusing singular/plural words.
Criterion & Criteria
‘Criterion’ is singular form and ‘criteria’ is plural form.
Meaning: a rule or principal used in evaluation.
E.g.:
“One criterion for grading this essay will be announced.”
“What were the criteria used to choose the winner?”
Phenomenon & Phenomena
‘Phenomenon’ is singular form and ‘phenomena’ is plural form.
Meaning: an observable fact or event.
E.g.:
“Star Wars eventually became a cultural phenomenon.”
“Lightning and earthquakes are natural phenomena.”
Datum & Data
‘Datum’ is singular form and ‘data’ is plural form.
Meaning: a single piece of information
E.g.:
“The datum shows little without the rest of the statistics.”
“The data were collected over a period of three months.”
Stratum & strata
‘Stratum’ is singular form and ‘strata’ is plural form.
Meaning: a level or class to which people are assigned according to their social status, education, or income.
E.g.:
“Discrimination exist in every stratum of society.”
“Different social strata are most likely crashing into each other.”
Bacterium & bacteria
‘Bacterium’ is singular form and ‘bacteria’ is plural form.
Meaning: a type of unicellular microorganism that are important to human because of their chemical activities but some of its type often cause disease.
E.g.:
“Every bacterium is prokaryotic.”
“Tetanus is a serious ilness caused by Clostridium tetani bacteria.”
Source:
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Compiled and written by @anhtiss at @EnglishTips4U on Wednesday, August 23, 2017.
