1.92 plural forms

The plural forms of compound nouns vary according to the type of words that they consist of. If the final word of a compound noun is a count noun, the plural form of the count noun is used when the compound noun is plural.

• Air raids were taking place every night.
• ...health centres, banks, post offices, and police stations.
• Shrill voices would be heard through letter-boxes.
• ...the refusal of dockers to use fork-lift trucks.

Compound nouns that are directly related to phrasal verbs usually have a plural form ending in '-s'.

• Nobody seems disturbed about cover-ups when they are essential to the conduct of a war.
• Naturally, I think people who drive smarter, faster cars than mine are a bunch of low-grade show-offs.

A few compound nouns are less directly related to phrasal verbs, and consist of a count noun and an adverb. In these cases, the plural form of the count noun is used before the adverb when the compound noun is plural.

For example, the plural of 'looker-on' is 'lookers-on', and the plural of 'summing-up' is 'summings-up'.

• He stopped passers-by and offered it for sale.

Compound nouns which consist of two nouns linked by the prepositions 'of' or 'in', or a noun followed by 'to-be', have a plural form in which the first noun in the compound is plural.

• I like birds of prey and hawks particularly.
• ...brothers whom I had considered my comrades in arms.
• The veil places brides-to-be at a distinct advantage.

Some compound nouns have been borrowed from other languages, mainly French and Latin, and therefore do not have normal English plural forms.

• ...aided by agents provocateurs sent into our midst.
• ...while the nouveaux riches of younger states built themselves palatial mansions.

1.93

Compound nouns are fixed expressions. However, nouns can always be used in front of other nouns in order to refer to something in a more specific way. For the use of nouns as modifiers, see paragraphs 2.174 to 2.179.