ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19953, 10 November 1934, Page 13

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

PUZZLES OF PLURAL AND SINGULAR We’ll begin with box and the plural is boxes. But the plural of ox should be oxen not oxes, Then one fowl is goose but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese. You may find a lone mouse or a whole lot of mice, But the plural of house is houses, not hice. If the plural of man is always called men, Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen? The cow in the plural may be cows or kine, But a bow if repeated is never called bine. And the plural of vow is vows, and not vine. If I speak of a foot and you show me your feet, And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet? If one is a tooth, and a whole set are teeth, Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth? If the Singular is this and the plural is these, Should the plural of kiss be nicknamed keese? ' We speak of a brother and also of brethren, But though we say mother we never say methren. Then masculine pronouns are he, his, and him. But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim! So the English I think you all will agree Is the most wonderful language you ever did see.