8. A few nouns form their plurals by changing a single vowel, as
_man---men, woman---women, goose---geese, foot---feet, tooth---teeth,_
etc. Compounds follow the rule of the simple form, but the plural of
_talisman_ is _talismans,_ of _German_ is _Germans,_ of _musselman_ is
_musselmans,_ because these are not compounds of _men_.
9. A few plurals are formed by adding _en,_ as _brother---brethren,
child---children, ox---oxen_.
10. _Brother, pea, die,_ and _penny_ have each two plurals, which
differ in meaning. _Brothers_ refers to male children of the same
parents, _brethren_ to members of a religious body or the like;
_peas_ is used when a definite number is mentioned, _pease_ when
bulk is referred to; _dies_ are instruments used for stamping, etc.,
_dice_ cubical blocks used in games of chance; _pennies_ refer to a
given number of coins, _pence_ to an amount reckoned by the coins.
_Acquaintance_ is sometimes used in the plural for _acquaintances_ with
no difference of meaning.
11. A few words are the same in the plural as in the singular,
as _sheep, deer, trout,_ etc.
12. Some words derived from foreign languages retain the plurals of
those languages.
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