MODERN BUSINESS ENGLISH

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MODERN BUSINESS ENGLISH

• Tamara A.Susetyo-Salim

Manjemen Informasi Dokumentasi FAKULTAS ILMU
PENGETAHUAN BUDAYA UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA
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Compound and Other Nouns Plural Forms
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PLURAL OF COMPOUND NOUNS

• A compound noun consists of two or more words
  used together as one name. Compound nouns are
  formed in several ways for example
• TWO NOUNS
• airport cash register
• bookcase clock-watcher
• hallway stock exchange

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• ADJECTIVE PLUS NOUN
• half-truth real estate
• shorthand special delivery
• highway freeway
• NOUN PLUS DESCRIPTIVE PHRASE
• attorney-at-law board of directors
• editor in chief jack-of-all-trades
• sister-in-law point of view

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• WORDS OTHER THAN NOUNS
• write-up layoff
• get-together takeover
• output trade-in

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• Note that there is no consistent pattern for
  writing compound nouns. Some are written without
  a space or a hyphen between the words others are
  written with a space between the words and still
  others are written with a hyphen between the
  words. When in doubt as to how to write a
  particular compound noun, consult an up-to-date
  dictionary and note the part-of-speech label for
  the particular entry. As illustrated below, a
  compound may be written one way as a noun and
  another way as a verb. For example
• NOUN double check markup
  write-off
• VERB double-check mark up write off

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• 1. Compound Nouns Written as One Word. To form
  the plural of most compound nouns written as one
  word, change the last element of the compound to
  its plural form by following the rules presented
  in Unit 1. Remember that the last element may be
  an irregular noun.
• Payday sandwich takeover grandchild
• Paydays sandwiches takeovers grandchildren

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• Compound Nouns Written With Spaces or Hyphens. If
  a compound noun consists of two nouns written
  with a space between them, pluralize the second
  noun.
• Carbon copy money order car wash
  coffee break
• Carbon copies money orders car washes
  coffee breaks

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• If the compound noun consists of a noun plus
  another part of speech or a phrase, change the
  main element to its plural form. Note that some
  compound nouns of this type are written with
  spaces and some are written with hyphens.
• Account payable letter of credit sister-in-law
• Accounts payable letters of credit
  sisters-in-law

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• To form the plural of a compound noun that does
  not contain a noun element, change the last
  element to its plural form.
• get-together hang up write-off drive-in
• get-togethers hang-ups write-offs drive-ins

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• As illustrated below, some compound nouns have
  more than one acceptable plural form.
• attorney general court-martial
• attorneys general courts-martial
• OR attorney generals ALSO court-martial

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Write the plural of each compound noun below in
the space provided.
Spot Check 1

• 1. footnote 1._______________________
• 2. credit card 2. _______________________
• 3. Counteroffer 3. _______________________
• 4. brother-in-law 4. _______________________
• 5. Wristwatch 5. _______________________
• 6. board foot6 6. _______________________
• 7. aftershock 7. _______________________
• 8. cross-reference 8. _______________________
• 9. account receivable 9. ______________________
  _
• 10. mainstay 10. _______________________

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1. printout 11._____________________
2. thunderstorm 12._____________________
3. mix-up 13._____________________
4. coffee break 14. _____________________
5. bookshelf 15. _____________________
6. letter of credit 16. _____________________
7. money-maker 17. _____________________
8. side effect 18. _____________________
9. sideline 19. _____________________
10. lead-in 20. _____________________
11. standby 21. _____________________
12. tax shelter 22. _____________________
13. team player 23. _____________________
14. editor in chief 24. _____________________
15. half-truth 25. _____________________

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PLURAL OF ABBREVIATIONS, NUMBS, HOBS, SYMBOLS,
AND OTHERS WORDS

• 3. Most Abbreviations. For most abbreviations,
  form the plural by adding s to the singular
  abbreviation.
• apt. dept. mo. yr. hwy. pkg. mgr. No.
• apts. depts. mos. yrs. hwys. pkgs. mgrs.
  Nos.

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• 4. Abbreviations Ending With a Capital Letter.
  Preferably, form the plural of an abbreviation
  that consists of capital letters or that ends
  with a capital letter by adding only an 5 to the
  singular abbreviation. Note that many
  abbreviations consisting entirely of capital
  letters are commonly written without periods.
• CPA Ph.D. YWCA M.D. VIP VCR
• CPAs Ph.D.s YWCAs M.D.s VIPs VCRs

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• 5. Abbreviations Ending With an Uncapitalized
  Letter. To form the plural of an abbreviation
  that consists of uncapitalized letters followed
  by periods or that ends with an uncapitalized
  letter followed by a period, add an apostrophe
  and s to the singular abbreviation.
• c.o.d. f.o.b. M.Ed.
• c.o.d.s (BUT CODs) f.o.b.s M.Ed.s

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• Letters, Numbers, and Symbols. Form the plurals
  of uncapitalized letters by adding an apostrophe
  and s, but add only an s to form the plurals of
  most capital letters.
• Cross ts dot Is us or vs
• A few Cs some Ds Ps and Qs

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• For the sake of clarity, use an apostrophe and s
  to form the plural of each of the following
  capital letters
• A's (to avoid confusion with the word As)
• I's (to avoid confusion with the word Is)
• M's (to avoid confusion with the abbreviation
  Ms.)
• U's (to avoid confusion with the word Us)

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• Also, for the sake of consistency of style
  within a letter or other document, express the
  plurals of capital letters in the same manner.
• Some students' report cards contain nothing but
  A's and B's. (not Some students' report cards
  contain nothing but A's and Bs.)
• For symbols and for numbers written in figures,
  add only an s to form the plural.
• s s 5s 20s 1900s
• Following the rules for other nouns, add s or es
  to form the plurals of numbers written in words.
• fives sixes twenties nineteen hundreds

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• 7. Words Referred to as Words. In most
  instances, form the plural of a word referred to
  as a word by adding s or es.
• Ifs, ands, or buts yeses and noes
• ins and outs whys and wherefores
• However, use an apostrophe and 5 if the plural
  form is unfamiliar or is likely to be misread.
• or s or nors that's and which's
• If a word already contains an apostrophe, add
  only an .v to form the plural.
• can'ts don'ts haven'ts shouldn'ts

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• Units of Weight and Measure. For an abbreviation
  of a metric unit of weight or measure, use the
  same form for the singular and the plural. Also
  note that abbreviations of metric terms are
  always written without periods.
• m (meter or meters) 1 m 3m
• L (liter or liters) 1 L 5 L
• g (gram or grams) 1 g 7 g
• km (kilometer or kilometers) 1 km 2 km
• kg (kilogram or kilograms) 1 kg 6 kg
• cm (centimeter on centimeters) 1 cm 4 cm
• dam (dekameter or dekameters) 1 dam 8 dam

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• The abbreviations of many customary terms of
  weight and measure are also the same for singular
  and plural, and the trend is to write them
  without periods.
• ft (foot or feet) 1 ft 6 ft
• in (inch or inches) 1 in 3 in
• oz (ounce or ounces) 1 oz 12 oz
• Other customary units have two widely used
  plural forms, but the trend is to use the form
  without the s. Also note the trend toward
  omitting periods.
• lb OR lbs 7 lb OR 7 lbs
• qt OR qts 4 qt OR 4 qts
• yd OR yds 3 yd OR 3 yds

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• Single-Letter Abbreviations. For a few
  single-letter abbreviations, form the plural by
  doubling the letter that represents the singular.
• p. (page) p. 25
• pp. (pages) pp. 25-30
• f (and the following page) pp. 18 f.
• ff, (and the following pages) pp. 12 ff.

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• 10. Nouns With Numbers. When accompanied by
  numbers, certain nouns use the same form for
  singular and plural. These terms include hundred,
  thousand, dozen, and gross.
• five hundred 16 dozen one million
• four score 12 gross one dozen
• three thousand 10 million one hundred
• Although abbreviations are frequently used in
  technical writing, tabulations, and business
  forms, most terms are written in full in letters,
  memos, and other documents. Such abbreviations as
  Mr., Mrs., Ms., Jr., c.o.d., a.m., and FBI are
  customarily abbreviated in all types of
  communications.

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Spot Check 2Write the plural of each of the
following items in the space provided.

1. Fig. (figure) 1. ________________
2. YWCA 2. ________________
3. 3. col. (column) 3. ________________
4. Ed. D. 4. ________________
5. cm (centimeter) 5. ________________
6. 10 6. ________________
7. yd (yard) 7. ________________
8. won't 8. ________________
9. km (kilometer) 9. ________________
10. I (the letter) 10. ________________

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• 11. I (line) 11._________________
• 12. v. (verse) 12. _________________
• 13. one million 13. _________________
• 14. yes 14. _________________
• 15. A and B 15. _________________
• 16. p. (page) 16. _________________
• 17. L (the letter) 17. _________________
• 18. Form 1040 18. _________________
• 19. RN (Registered Nurse) 19. _________________
  
• 20. bbl (barrel) 20. _________________
• 21. u (the letter) 21. _________________
• 22. in (inch) 22. _________________
• 23. five 23 23. _________________
• 24. no 24 24. _________________
• 25. why 25 25. _________________

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PLURALS OF PROPER NOUNS

• 11. Proper Nouns Ending in cb, sb, s, x, or z. If
  a proper noun ends in cb, sb, s, x, or z, form
  the plural by adding es to the singular noun.
• Lynch Wals Willis Max Hertz
• Lynches Walshes Willises Maxes Hertzes

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• Exceptions If a proper noun ending in cb is
  pronounced as though the cb were a k, add only
  an s for example, the plural of Dietrich is
  Dietrichs.
• Also, note that a proper noun such as French or
  Dutch is plural when it refers to the people of a
  country. However, if it is the name of a person,
  form the plural by adding es Frenches or
  Dutches, for example.
• For the following names, change the y to i and
  add es if the word Mountains is omitted
• Rocky Mountains Smoky Mountains Allegheny
  Mountains
• the Rockies the Smokies the Alleghenies

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• 12. Other Proper Nouns. For most other proper
  nouns, form the plural by adding s to the
  singular noun.
• Barbara German Dakota Kelly Riley
• Barbaras Germans Dakotas Kellys Rileys

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• Courtesy and Other Titles With Names of Persons.
  Titles are most frequently used in the singular
  form. However, when a title precedes a personal
  name, the formal style is to pluralize the title
  the informal style is to pluralize the name.

Singular Formal Plural Informal Plural
Ms. Burton Miss. Colby Mr. Blake Mrs. Wells Dr. Wang (the) Mses. Burton OR (the) Mss. Burton (the) Misse. Colby (the) Messrs. Blake (the) Mesdames. Welsh OR (the) Mmes. Welsh (the) Drs. Wang (the)Ms. Burton (the)Miss. Colby (the) Mr. Blake (the)Mrs. Wells (the) Dr. Wang
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• 14. Titles in Addresses. Plurals of titles in
  addresses are used as follows
• Mesdames or Mmes., the plural of Mrs., is used
  frequently in listing the names of married women
  with different surnames Mesdames (or Mmes.)
  Barnes, Carlson, and Davis. Mrs. is more often
  used when married women have the same surname
  the Mrs. Ed-sons.
• Either Mses. or Mss. may be used as the plural
  of Ms. This title, in either its singular or its
  plural form, may be used with names of women,
  regardless of their marital status. However, if a
  married woman uses her husband's first name or
  initials instead of her own, the title Mrs.
  should be used (for example, Mrs. David Suarez,
  not Ms. David Suarez).

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• Misses, the plural of Miss, is not an
  abbreviation and therefore is not followed by a
  period.
• Messrs., the plural of Mr., is the abbreviation
  of Messieurs and is followed by a period. This
  title is correctly used in addressing a
  professional partnership composed entirely of
  men (for example, Messrs. James Hubbard and
  Robert Shannon, Attorneys-at-Law). However, if a
  company or corporate name includes the names of
  persons, do not use Messrs, before the personal
  names.
• INCOREECT Messrs. Boyd and Warren, Inc.
• Messrs. R. K. Lloyd Co.
• CORRECT Boyd and Warren, Inc.
• R. K. Lloyd Co.

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• Avoid the plural forms of titles in addresses
  that involve the names of several people
  however, plural forms may be necessary in certain
  cases. For example, rather than write Messrs. J.
  R. Collins and W. L. McCormick as the first line
  of the address, write the name of each person on
  a separate line and use the appropriate courtesy
  title before each name.
• Mr. J. R. Collins
• Mr. W. L McCormick
• 90 West Waters Avenue
• Tampa, R 33615

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• In the spaces provided, write the plurals of the
  following nouns.
• Carolina 1._________________
• Koch 2. _________________
• Riley 3. _________________
• Miss Davis (formal) 4. _________________
• Murdoch 5. _________________
• French (family name) 6. _________________
• Japanese 7. _________________
• Ms. Mallory (informal) 8. _________________
• Mrs. 9. _________________
• Mr 10. _________________

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1. Ms. 11. _______________
2. Welch 12. _______________
3. Wirtz 13. _______________
4. Bendix 14. _______________
5. Foley 15. _______________
6. Standish 16. _______________
7. Dr. 17. _______________
8. Miss West (informal) 18. _______________
9. Mr. Perez (formal) 19. _______________
10. Mrs. Jones (informal) 20. _______________

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Spot Check 2

• A. The following sentences show applications of
  die rules for forming plurals of compound nouns.
  As you read each sentence, give particular
  attention to the italicized nouns. The numbers
  following them refer to the rules presented in
  this unit.
• 1. The regional managers² are working on their
  sales budgets².
• 2. Sky marshals² have been assigned to prevent
  sky-jackings¹.
• 3. Those flashlights¹ will be needed in case of
  blackouts¹.
• 4. My brothers-in-law² are enrolled in different
  junior colleges².
• 5. Some drugstores¹ sell everything from
  toothbrushes1 to lawn chairs².
• 6. Do book clubs² offer publications at lower
  prices than bookstores?¹
• 7. Both their daughters-in-law² and their
  grandchildren spent the day at an amusement
  park.

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1. Economic slowdowns¹ may result in temporary
   layoffs¹ of workers in government, business, and
   industry.
2. The sales representatives² gave new price lists²
   to customers.
3. Most stockbrokers¹ paid no attention to the
   rumors concerning possible takeovers¹ of
   companies by corporate raiders².
4. One of the stagehands¹ has written several short
   stories².
5. The teenagers were given an opportunity to
   express their points of view¹.
6. Directors of marketing may request field tests²
   of products.
7. I bought two stepladders¹ and some paint-brushes¹
   at neighborhood garage sales² last week.
8. During recent news conferences², spokespersons¹
   for the companies denounced unidentified
   rumormongers¹.
9. They deposited their paychecks¹ in their
   checking accounts² and rented safe-deposit
   boxes².
10. What do you think of the life-styles² of those
    officeholders¹?
11. Both lieutenant governors² claimed they had paid
    their income taxes² on time.
12. We saw several grand pianos² in their show-rooms
13. These guidelines¹ were developed for freelancers².

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The following sentences illustrate rules for
forming the plurals of abbreviations, letters,
numbers, symbols, words referred to as words, and
proper nouns. The numbers following the
italicized terms refer to rules given in this
unit.

• Only one of the Mses. Cason¹ works in the
  personnel department.
• I wonder what the following items will cost a
  decade from now
• 5 lb potatoes8.
• 1 L gasoline8.
• 2 pkgs. of chewing gum3.
• Please see the organization chart on pp. 8-109.
• The word withhold contains two b's6.
• This handwritten draft contains too many
  how-evers7 and some 7s6 that could be misread as
  4s or 9s6.
• As a graduate student, she received nothing but
  A's and B's6.
• Over 10 million10 people live and work in the
  metropolitan area.

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ASSIGNMENT Complete the Unit 2 Worksheet on
pages 15 16.

• How many Blisses11 and Wirtzes11 do you know?
• Several Germans12 visited the Frenches11,
  McClintocbs11, and Murphys12 a week or so ago.
• The article is of special interest to CPAs4.
• We handle many c.o.d.'s5 every day.
• The address on the envelope was as follows
• Messrs.14 Edgar Martinez and L. C. Sheahan,
  Attorneys-at-Law.
• Charles and Barbara are among the RNs4 at
  Memorial Hospital.
• This carton contains two dozen10 eggs.
• The register contains several tens6 and a few
  twenties6.
• These instructions contain a great many donts7.
• Note the rules on pp. 20 ff9.
• The Helmses11 stayed at a resort in the
  Rockies11.
• We counted four yeses7 and six noes7.
• Those VCRs4 were manufactured during the
  1980s6.

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The End