Question

Select the plural of the foreign word given below:
axis
(a) axa
(b) axes
(c) axis’s
(d) axis’

Answer 1

Hint: When we are asked to find out the plural of a certain thing X, we have to find out the term used for two or more of X. For example, give me 1 banana but give her 3 bananas. Some examples of singular and plural words are tomato-tomatoes, cherry-cherries, formula-formulae, etc.

Complete answer:
The given word is “axis”. An axis is a term used in mathematics which is used for referring to the fixed line of reference which helps in locating the coordinates.
(a) axa- This word has no existence in the English language.
(b) axes- The plural of axis is “axes”. The plural of a noun which ends in “is”, ends in “es” by replacing the “is” with “es”. This is because of the derivation of the plural form from a Greek word.
(c) axis’s- When words are written with an apostrophe and the letter “s”, it shows possession and is termed as “possessives” in the English language. For example, This dress is Sheela’s. This means the dress belongs to Sheela. In the given question, we are not to find out possession but the plural form. Also, words ending in “s” do not use an apostrophe and a “s” to show possession.
(d) axis’- As already mentioned above, we are not to find out the possessive noun but the plural. Using an apostrophe does not form plural nouns. The correct answer is option (b).

Note:
 Confusion arises when words end with s because people think the way to make a word ending in “s” plural is by adding “es”. That is not true in all cases, for example, axis. There are some exceptional words which do not follow the general rule in singular and plural nouns. For example sheep-sheep, formula-formulae, etc.