用法详解
名词复数(Plural Nouns)表示两个或两个以上的人或事物。英语中大多数可数名词都有单数和复数两种形式。
可数名词与不可数名词
可数名词:可以用数目来计算的名词,有单复数形式。
- 单数:a book, an apple, one student
- 复数:two books, three apples, many students
不可数名词:不能用数目来计算的名词,通常没有复数形式。
- water, milk, bread, information, advice
规则复数变化
一般情况加 -s
- book → books
- pen → pens
- dog → dogs
- student → students
以 s, x, ch, sh 结尾加 -es
- bus → buses
- box → boxes
- watch → watches
- brush → brushes
- class → classes
- dish → dishes
以辅音字母 + y 结尾,变 y 为 i 加 -es
- baby → babies
- city → cities
- story → stories
- country → countries
例外:以元音字母 + y 结尾,直接加 -s:
- boy → boys
- day → days
- toy → toys
以 f 或 fe 结尾,变 f/fe 为 v 加 -es
- knife → knives
- leaf → leaves
- wife → wives
- life → lives
- thief → thieves
- wolf → wolves
例外:直接加 -s 的词:
- roof → roofs
- belief → beliefs
- chief → chiefs
- safe → safes
以 o 结尾的名词
加 -es 的词(常见):
- hero → heroes
- potato → potatoes
- tomato → tomatoes
- echo → echoes
加 -s 的词(常见):
- photo → photos
- piano → pianos
- radio → radios
- zoo → zoos
- kilo → kilos
- video → videos
不规则复数变化
元音变化
| 单数 | 复数 |
|---|---|
| man | men |
| woman | women |
| foot | feet |
| tooth | teeth |
| goose | geese |
| mouse | mice |
单复数同形
| 单数 | 复数 |
|---|---|
| sheep | sheep |
| deer | deer |
| fish | fish |
| Chinese | Chinese |
| Japanese | Japanese |
| Swiss | Swiss |
外来词复数形式
| 单数 | 复数 |
|---|---|
| child | children |
| ox | oxen |
| phenomenon | phenomena |
| analysis | analyses |
| basis | bases |
| crisis | crises |
复合名词的复数
-
由 man/woman 构成的复合名词:两个词都变复数
- man teacher → men teachers
- woman doctor → women doctors
-
由 boy/girl 构成的复合名词:只变后面的名词
- boy student → boy students
- girl friend → girl friends
-
由名词 + 介词/副词构成的复合名词:变前面的名词
- passer-by → passers-by
- looker-on → lookers-on
- son-in-law → sons-in-law
-
由名词 + 名词构成的复合名词:变后面的名词
- apple tree → apple trees
- shoe shop → shoe shops
- There are two _______ (knife) on the table.
- The _______ (child) are playing in the garden.
- She bought three _______ (tomato) and four _______ (potato).
- Many _______ (sheep) are eating grass on the hill.
- The _______ (woman teacher) are having a meeting.
- knives
- children
- tomatoes; potatoes
- sheep
- women teachers
复数名词的发音规则
| 词尾 | 发音 | 例词 |
|---|---|---|
| 在清辅音后 | /s/ | books, cups, desks |
| 在浊辅音和元音后 | /z/ | pens, dogs, boys |
| 在 /s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/ 后 | /ɪz/ | buses, boxes, watches, bridges |
易错点提醒
- 不可数名词误加复数:如 informations, advices, furnitures 都是错误的。
- 集体名词的用法:people, police, cattle 本身表示复数概念,不能说 a people,但可以说 a person。
- fish 的复数:表示鱼的条数时,单复数同形;表示鱼的种类时,用 fishes。
- I caught three fish.(三条鱼)
- There are many fishes in the lake.(多种鱼)
名词复数是英语语法的基础,建议同学们制作自己的名词复数变化表,分类记忆规则变化和不规则变化,并通过大量阅读和写作来巩固。