Plural of Antenna

The Quick Answer

The plural of antenna is antennas or antennae.

The Plural of Antenna

The plural of antenna is antennas or antennae.

Antennas are used for sensing in arthropods.
Crustaceans bear two pairs of antennae.

The noun antenna has a Latin root, which is the derivation of the plural antennae. Through common usage, antennas (which adheres to the standard rules for forming plurals) is also now acceptable.

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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	antenna scythe	add s	antennas scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z	box dress	add es	boxes dresses
Nouns ending [consonant] o	hero zero tomato	add either s or es (There are no rules for this - you have to know.)	heroes 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
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	antenna medium	some nouns adopt foreign rulings	antennae media

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Antenna?

Confusion arises over the plural of antenna because its original plural form (antennae) derives from Latin and native English speakers are drawn to antennas, which adheres to the standard ruling for forming plurals.

Both antennae and antennas are acceptable, but antennas has become more common plural and the safest option. (See the evidence in Google's Ngram Viewer.)

Another Interactive Exercise

Here are three randomly selected questions from another exercise on plurals, which can be edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.

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