What Is the Plural of Diagnosis?
The Quick Answer
The plural of "diagnosis" is "diagnoses."- Hippocrates was known to make diagnoses by smelling his patients' sweat.
- In a differential diagnosis, a physician rules out the diagnoses until a final determination can be made.
Table of Contents
- Are You Good at Plurals?
- The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals
- Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Diagnosis?
- Ready for the Test?
Are You Good at Plurals?
Here's a quick test.The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals
The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.Type | Example of Type | Forming the Plural | Plural |
---|---|---|---|
Most Nouns | lamp scythe |
add s | lamps scythes |
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z | box dress |
add es | boxes dresses |
Nouns ending [consonant] o |
zero tomato |
add either s or es (There are no rules for this - you have to know.) |
zeros tomatoes |
Nouns ending [vowel] o | patio ratio |
add s | patios ratios |
Nouns ending [consonant] y | story penny |
change the y to an i and add es | stories pennies |
Nouns ending [vowel] y | donkey chimney |
add s | donkeys chimneys |
Nouns ending f or fe | dwarf hoof |
ves and/or s (There are no rules - you have to know.) |
dwarfs hooves or hoofs |
Nouns ending is | diagnosis crisis |
change the "is" to "es" | diagnoses crises |
Exceptions | man louse |
some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change | men lice |
More exceptions | salmon sheep |
some nouns do not change at all | salmon sheep |
Foreign rulings | fungus medium |
some nouns adopt foreign rulings | fungi media |
Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Diagnosis?
"Diagnoses" is the only way to make the noun "diagnosis" plural.Confusion arises because some mistakenly believe that all nouns ending in "s" should form a plural that adds "es" to the end of the word. When a noun ends with "is," you need to replace the "is" with an "es" to form the plural. This is because its plural form derives from Greek.
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