英文文法: 單數變複數指引 (sheep==>sheep; goat==>goats)

英文文法: 單數變複數指引

(sheep==>sheep; goat==>goats)

（Source： Zhihu）

（answered by： alexcwlin； edited by： Adam Lam）

Question：

為什麼英語中，sheep不可數，而goat可數呢？

alexcwlin comments：

There are many theories on why the plural of “sheep” is still “sheep”， one of which is “sheep” retained its trait when it was adopted from German language。

But if you are diligently trying to find a rule of thumb that can be applied uniformly on how to pluralize all nouns， don’t！

It will drive you crazy。

The plural forms of “sheep” is “sheep”， “deer” is “deer”， and “fish” is “fish”， but “goat” is “goats”。

The plural of “goose” is “geese”， but “moose” is still “moose”。

The plural of “man” is “men”， but “fan” is “fans”。

And it just goes on and on。

I know my English， but I still have to check dictionary from time to time to make sure the plural form of a certain noun is correct； unless， of course， I am absolutely certain as in the case of some commonly used nouns。

Good luck！