Question

Fill in the blank:
The plural form of the noun ‘scarf’ is ____________.
a)Scarves
b)Scarfes
c)Scarfs
d)Scarve

Answer 1

Hint: The word Scarf has two plural forms where one can be used both as a noun and a verb while the other is only a noun.

Complete step-by-step answer:

Option a ‘Scarves’ is the plural form of the noun ‘Scarf’. The word is never used as a verb and is a noun itself. So, Option a is the correct option.
Option b ‘Scarfes’ is not the correct word. No such word exists in the English language. So, option b is incorrect.
Option c ‘Scarfs’ is also the plural form of the word ‘Scarf’. It can be used both as a noun and as a verb. But this word was prominent before the 20th century and is used rarely in modern times. So, option c, though is correct but option a is preferred to option c.
Option d ‘Scarve’ is also incorrect. No such word exists in English language. It is a spelling error. So, option d is also incorrect.

Note: Option a and option c, both are correct; but scarves are more prominently used in the present times, and scarfs were used before the 20th century. According to Garner’s Modern American Usage, even though scarfs are the original variant, scarves are more than eight times as commonly used as the term scarfs in modern times.