Plural of Compound Nouns
a) The plural of most compounds is built up by making plural the final component: bookcase - bookcases, housewife - housewives, boy-scout - boy-scouts, forget-me-not - forget-me-nots, go-between - go-betweens, grown-up - grown-ups, gin-and-tonic - gin-and-tonics, Englishman - Englishmen, policeman - policemen. b) In a few compound nouns the first component is made plural: father-in-law - fathers-in-law, mother-in-law - mothers-in-law, commander-in-chief - commanders-in-chief, coat-of-mail - coats-of-mail, man-of-war - men-of-war, passer-by - passers-by, looker-on - lookers-on, court-martial - courts-martial, attorney-general - attorneys-general, lady-in-waiting - ladies-in-waiting. c) Compounds in which the first component is man or woman have the plurals in both components: man-servant - men-servants, woman-doctor - women-doctors, gentleman-farmer - gentlemen-farmers. d) Is should be noted that such nouns as German, Roman, Norman are not compounds and therefore they form the plural in regular ways: German - Germans, Roman - Romans. 9. The plural of abbreviations is sometimes formed by doubling a letter: Ms (manuscript) - MSS, p. (page) - pp., Mr (Mister) - Messrs ['mesəz], M.P. (Member of Parliament) - M.P.s. ['em'piz], M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) - M.D.s. ['em'diz], Co. (Company) - Co.s [kouz], Nos. (numbers).
10. T he nouns of Latin or Greek origin form the plural in their own way:
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