CONTENTS FEATURE: Exceptions are the rule with plurals WELCOME: The newest EditPros client NET NOTES: Captivating web sites FEATURE: Exceptions are the rule with plurals      The English language and the U.S. Tax Code have a characteristic in common. The rules for both are much more complex than they ought to be.      Take plurals for instance. Adding an "s" or "es" seems like a straightforward, sensible way to designate a quantity of greater than one. That principle works very well in Spanish, but the English language has more exceptions for plurals than a tax attorney has deductions.      English has several fundamental guidelines governing formation of plurals, but they are convoluted. The plural sense of most nouns is formed by adding "s"—for example, car/cars, desk/desks, river/rivers. However, nouns that end in a silent "s" are not changed in plural references—for example, one chassis, six chassis. For nouns that end in an "o" preceded by a vowel (including "y"), ALWAYS add "s"—for example, patio/patios, duo/duos, zoo/zoos, embryo/embryos. For nouns ending in an "o" that is preceded by a consonant, USUALLY add "es"—for example, hero/heroes, torpedo/torpedoes, potato/potatoes. But beware of exceptions: aficionado/aficionados, tobacco/tobaccos, gazebo/gazebos. For ALL musical terms that end in an "o" simply add "s"—for example, arpeggio/arpeggios, piano/pianos, soprano/sopranos. For ALL nouns that end in "ch," "s," "sh" or "x," add "es"—for example, peach/peaches, moss/mosses, wish/wishes, box/boxes. For MOST nouns that end in a "y" preceded by a vowel, add "s"—for example, attorney/attorneys, monkey/monkeys. An exception is the plural for money, which can be represented as either moneys or monies. For ALL nouns that end in a "y" preceded by a consonant, change the "y" to an "i" and add "es"—for example, company/companies, city/cities, category/categories. For MOST nouns that end in "f" or "fe," change the ending to "ves"—for example, leaf/leaves, shelf/shelves and life/lives. Exceptions include roof/roofs, safe/safes and carafe/carafes. Still more exceptions: Either form is acceptable for the plurals of certain words—notably hoof (hoofs or hooves), dwarf (dwarfs or dwarves) and scarf (scarf or scarves). For many French-derived words ending in "eau," use either English or French plural forms—for example, bureau/bureaus or (bureaux), beau/beaus (or beaux) and plateau/plateaus (or plateaux). For nouns ending in "ex" or "ix," add either "es" or change the "ex" or "ix" to "ices"—for example, apex/apexes (or apices), cortex/cortexes (or cortices), appendix/appendixes (or appendices), index/indexes (or indices). Use "indexes" in reference to books, and "indices" in mathematical references.      That, unfortunately, is just the beginning of a long list of exceptions and quirks. Here are more irregularities, along with some additional guidelines, to keep in mind. Mauled Latin words.      Not all plural forms end in the letter "s". The plurals of certain Latin-derived nouns end in "a," and such plurals often are mistakenly used rather than their singular forms that end in "on" or "um." For example, Fred may say, "The resurgence of the downtown district is a remarkable phenomena." Use of that plural was incorrect; Fred should have used the singular form, "phenomenon". Other similar singular words (followed by their plurals) include: criterion/criteria stratum/strata medium/media erratum/errata memorandum/memoranda datum: singular of data. Because the singular form "datum" is rarely used and thus sounds strange, "data" is accepted as a singular form as well, even though it is not correct. To be more precise, substitute "a piece of data" or "an item of data" in reference to the singular. Words with "is" endings      The plurals of many nouns ending in "is" are formed by changing to an "es" ending. hypothesis/hypotheses analysis/analyses ellipsis/ellipses crisis/crises oasis/oases synopsis/synopses parenthesis/parentheses. Words with "us" endings The plurals of singular nouns that end in "us" are formed with the Latin "i" ending. stimulus/stimuli stratus/strati alumnus/alumni.      A female graduate of an institution is an alumna, the plural of which is alumnae. The plural term "alumni" designates a group composed of male and female graduates.      Some words ending in "us" that have acceptable English and Latin plural forms include: cactus/cactuses (or cacti) focus/focuses (or foci) fungus/funguses (or fungi) nucleus/nucleuses (or nuclei) radius/radii (or radiuses) terminus/termini (or terminuses). And for some other words ending in "us," only an English plural form is used. They include: prospectus/prospectuses isthmus/isthmuses. Some words ending in "a" may take either of two plural forms, including: formula/formulas (or formulae) larva/larvas (or larvae) stigma/stigmas (or stigmata). Irregular plurals      The plurals of certain nouns are formed by changing their spelling. Such irregular plurals include: tooth/teeth foot/feet goose/geese mouse/mice person/people (or persons) child/children (Old English plural) woman/women. The plurals of most, but not all, words ending in "man" are formed by changing the ending to "men", as in: clergyman/clergymen statesman/statesmen. But others are formed by simply adding "s": ottoman/ottomans talisman/talismans. Proper names      Do not use an apostrophe to form the plural of a proper name. Simply add "s" to the name; if it ends in "s," "ch," "sh" or "z," add "es": the Smiths; the Kennedys; the Joneses; the Bushes; the Gorbachevs, the Birches, the Lopezes. Acronyms      Use a lowercase "s" without an apostrophe to form the plural of most acronyms. Example: They sold 15 CD-ROMs. Use an apostrophe only if excluding it might cause confusion. Example: the Oakland A's set an American League record (not Oakland As). Decades      When referring to a decade as an era, simply add an "s" without inserting an apostrophe. Examples: The 1950s or the '50s (not the 1950's or 50's) because those are simple plurals, not possessives. However, the apostrophe is proper before "50s" because it indicates the omission of "19". Plural plurals      Some singular nouns have more than one plural form—notably: bus/buses (or busses) domino/dominoes (or dominos) memento/mementos (or mementoes) portico/porticoes (or porticos) volcano/volcanoes (or volcanos) fish/fishes: "Fish" is used in reference to multiple numbers of individuals of a single species, while "fishes" is used if multiple species are involved. "The trout hatchery has 10,000 fish" but "This pet shop has thousands of fishes." Trademarked names      Do not pluralize proper names that are trademarked in the singular form. To make a plural reference to a trademarked product, apply the plural to its generic description. Example: We bought three Cuisinart food processors (not "We bought three Cuisinarts"). Compound nouns      The plural of compound nouns consisting of two or more words is usually formed by making the base word plural—for example, commanders-in-chief, brothers-in-law, accounts receivable. Odds and ends      That's about all, other than a few odds and ends—notably: bandit, which has two proper plurals—bandits and banditti; graffito, the singular form of graffiti (from Italian); cherub/cherubim (a Hebrew derivative) genus/genera quiz/quizzes.      Feeling overwhelmed? Even if the long list of rules weren't forbidding enough, the vast number of exceptions can drive even the most attentive writer batty. The best practical approach is to keep a reliable dictionary within reach, because with regard to plurals, English is singularly inconsistent. Yes! EditPros can make certain that the plurals in your memoranda, brochures and other documents are proper. We proudly welcome the newest EditPros client Hankamer School of Business Baylor University Waco, Texas (254) 710-3718 or (800) 583-0622 Web: http://business.baylor.edu/ The graduate business program at Baylor University encompasses 10 fields of study, including executive education programs, e-commerce and customer relationship management. Baylor Business graduate offerings include Master of Business Administration (MBA), Executive MBA, Master of Accountancy, Master of Taxation, Master of Science in Information Systems and Master of Science in Economics degree programs. Baylor's graduate entrepreneurial program is ranked 14th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. Financial Times regards Baylor's Executive MBA program among the top 50 in the world, and gave it the highest rating among the three Texas universities in the survey.      In August, Baylor Business hosted President George W. Bush's economic forum nationally televised from the Waco campus. President Bush and half the members of his Cabinet, including Vice President Dick Cheney, attended the Aug. 13 forum, in which they met with business and government luminaries as well as with Baylor business students and numerous Baylor administrators and faculty members. Read Baylor's Graduate Business Alumni newsletter. Net Notes: Captivating Internet resources Advertising in America, 1850-1920 http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/eaa/      View more than 9,000 examples of advertising memorabilia from the latter 19th and early 20th centuries, along with supporting information. This comprehensive resource on the evolution of early advertising is maintained by the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History at Duke University, Durham, N.C. Consumer Search http://www.consumersearch.com/www/      Consumer Search is a product evaluation site that presents conclusions based in large part on analysis of product reviews from Consumer Digest, Consumer Reports and various industry-specific print publications and Web resources. Consumer Search determines which reviews are the most credible and most helpful, and then distills that information into its own findings. Forgotten New York http://www.forgotten-ny.com/      Anyone who has ever been to New York knows that the percussion section of the city is composed of jackhammers, pile drivers, riveters and carpenters. The Big Apple is under constant construction, as aging buildings are demolished and new ones rise in their places. The old structures may be gone but not forgotten, and this Web site lovingly memorializes and preserves images of them. 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