ahava_yin  +  75445 Mon, 21 Feb 05 06:45 AM Hi, There are quite a number of nouns which might carry a different meaning when they are changed into plural forms, for example, arm=>arms; force=>forces. Would you like to add more? Thank you in advance! Ahava ahava_yin Joined on Thu, Sep 9 2004 Full Member 335 Hi, I'm learning English. Your notes help me a lot. I love the forum. Plurals, Nouns

	Mister Micawber  +  75546 Mon, 21 Feb 05 02:42 PM Sorry, Ahava: nothing much comes to mind. Many don't change significantly; for instance, I don't see any real change between 'force' and 'forces'. But I will bump this thread back up for you: . Quarter - quarters? Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,780 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.' Plurals

	paco2004  +  75602 Mon, 21 Feb 05 08:53 PM Some pairs I came across with are: [cloth - clothes] (1) Please buy two yards of cloth at the store. (2) Take off your clothes. [custom - customs] (1) It's a Japanese custom to celebrate girls on March 3. (2) You have to pay customs at the airport. [glass - glasses] (1) Every morning I drink two glasses of milk. (2) Look at that woman in weir glasses. [good - goods] (1) The book is no good any more to me. (2) They sell various goods at the store. [look - looks] (1) A sad look came to her face. (2) She is losing her looks. [manner - manners] (1) I don't like her cold manner to her child. (2) It's bad manners to eat from a knife. [pain - pains] (1) She felt a dull pain in her lower back. (2) She takes pains with her appearance. paco paco2004 Joined on Wed, Nov 17 2004 Senior Member 4,095 In Japan today even dogs are learning how to bow-wow in English. Plurals

	CalifJim  +  75685 Tue, 22 Feb 05 06:26 AM See what I mean, Mr. M? Never trust a native informant! The non-natives have been through this from such a different point of view that they know some of the pitfalls - and clever examples - even better than we! Good examples, Paco! CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,389 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Plurals

	Mister Micawber  +  75690 Tue, 22 Feb 05 07:16 AM I'm still not sure it is a valid pursuit, Jim. - The plural of 'cloth' is now 'cloths', not 'clothes', which has no singular form. The etymological history of cloth, cloths, clothes (in extreme brevity) is O.E. claðas "clothes," originally pl. of clað "cloth," which acquired a new pl., "cloths", 19c. to distinguish it from this word.' - 'Good' is singular for 'goods' in the sense of 'something with economic utility'. - 'She has the look of a deceived woman'. - 'Bad manners' is just a concatenation of each bad manner possessed. - 'It is a pain to have to research all these singulars and plurals.' Differences evolve, but all in all, I don't see it as a worthwhile exercise; many differences are too vague. T me, it is much more meaningful to discover the associations, Ahava. Mister Micawber Plurals

	paco2004  +  75702 Tue, 22 Feb 05 08:32 AM Mr M I agree that 'cloth' and 'clothes' are now regarded as different words, though 'clothes' was once (before 19 century) regarded as the plural of 'cloth'. I think the way to catch the sense(s) of an English word may differ from person to person. As I am a native Japanese learning English as the second language, I'm learning the senses of English words in the way I'm learning now. But I don't think the way can be applied to all ESL students. It will depend on the proximity between English and the native language of the learner. paco. paco2004 Plurals, Learning English