BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???

Subject: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: Mr Red
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 06:08 AM

anyone know definitive rules for plurals of valley, journey or money et al?

I once agonised over journies/journeys and settled on the latter.
Recently asked for the spelling of Valleys (in a phone message)
but would never question "monies" as being anything other than correct.

Is there a rule - with occasional exceptions?

I ask here because the BBC "Word of Mouth" forum is now closed.

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 06:22 AM

If writing for a book publisher in the US the appropriate reference would be the Chicago Manual of Style and monkeys would be preferred. (You might find an online manual under that name.)

If writing for a US newpaper, the Associated Press Style Manual might give the appropriate rule, but since nobody ever proof reads the newspapers any longer you could do just about anything you care to. It being rather immaterial in that case I won't bother to check that reference unless I'm a little more awake once I've had my evening nap.

There are numerous other standard references, and most people who do much writing will have their own favorites. The pedants will arrive shortly, I'm sure, to offer their opinions.

John

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: Will Fly
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 06:26 AM

As far as I'm aware, the plural of a noun with "ey" ending is "eys".

journeys
valleys
ospreys
bogeys
trolleys
etc.

There may be an exception(s) to this - bring it on! :-)

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: Will Fly
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 06:28 AM

I note the use of "monies" by the way - but, somehow I've always considered this noun to have a subtlely different meaning than just a plural of "money"...

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 06:28 AM

Words ending in 'ey' generally add 's'. Words ending only in 'y' usually change to 'ies' in the plural. But 'monies' is correct. In Old English, the plural 'en' was found, as in ey, eyen (eyes) (I'm not a pedant, I hope!)

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 06:31 AM

That Chicago Manual of Style sounds like the kind of reference book Chongo might use...

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: Will Fly
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 06:38 AM

Chimpanzeys sounds good to me.

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 07:14 AM

For the oiks, the plurals are definitely::

journiz
valliz
ospriz
bogiz
trolliz

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 11:10 AM

Well, let's see.

In school we all learned the rule "change the y to i and add es."

Thus, the plural of pony is ponies, of baby is babies.

Why do we do that? Because for some mysterious reason, if we just add an s, we change the long ee to a short i sound. For example, I know a woman named Marlys, which is pronounced MAR-liss.

Now if a word has an e in front of the y, and we followed the rule of "change the y to i and add es," then we'd get:

journey - journeies
valley - valleies

Too confusing! So forget the rule if there's an e in front of the y. The e is a sort of insulation which 'protects' the sound.

PS I don't think monies is the plural of money. Money is something you can hold in your hand. Monies are abstract currencies.

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: Mr Happy
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 11:43 AM

........why add 'es' to potatos & tomatos?

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: Mr Happy
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 11:44 AM

....as I feel it confuses some who'll spell the singular forms as 'Potatoe' & 'Tomatoe' !

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: SINSULL
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 11:53 AM

To mislead Dan Quayle, Mr. Happy.
heh heh

keys
not kies
quay quays

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 12:13 PM

From American Heritage Dict.

journey==journeys
valley==valleys
osprey==ospreys
bogey==bogeys
trolleys==trolleys or trollies

Seems the Ses have it.

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: Mr Happy
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 12:34 PM

Hey, hay we're the monkies!!

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 01:33 PM

bogies and of course dogies

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: GUEST,Chongo Chimp
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 01:39 PM

I'm votin' for "eys". Everyone knows it's "monkeys", fer instance.

You get a lotta "heys" around here. Ya know why? Italian workmen. They are always yellin' "HEY!" for some reason. They yell it at each other. They yell it at people goin' by. They yell it at me.

If ya got a bunch of Italians on a construction site, ya got a whole lotta "HEYS" happenin' all the time.

But it would look stupid to spell it HEIS, wouldn't it?

- Chongo

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: gnu
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 04:32 PM

SINS.... hahahahahaa

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: EBarnacle
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 08:40 PM

I am amazed that no one has mentioned chanteys...up to now.

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 10:50 PM

I can't think of a sentence in which I would want to use either "moneys" or "monies."

"Pounds and euros were the only moneys I carried with me."—Nah, I'd rather say "kinds of money."

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: Louie Roy
Date: 04 Apr 11 - 11:09 PM

This thread is a lot like the woman who tried to buy onions at the local grocery store

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: Mr Red
Date: 05 Apr 11 - 10:50 AM

whereas I would not be seen dead buying onions.

Come to think of it - when I was in charge of Trolley bus repair in Wellington we probably called them Trollies - but then everything plural down can get ies on the end.

Tinnies
relaxies
Breckies
Sharks & Greasies (Fush & Chups to you - Mate)
etc-ies

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 05 Apr 11 - 04:38 PM

But that's down under where things are different...

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 06 Apr 11 - 11:14 AM

"bogies and of course dogies"

If by "dogies" you are referring to cattle (strays), I believe the singular is "dogie" which makes that a regular plural, by dogies!

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 06 Apr 11 - 03:05 PM

John, you've cleared up something which has puzzled me for years! We had a TV programme here in UK called Rawhide, (I really fancied the very young Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates, but that's another issue) The theme song went "Moving moving moving, though they're disapproving, keep them doggies moving, Rawhide etc" I used to ask my father why the cowboys were singing about dogs when it was obvious they were herding cows. He just said "It's an American film, that's why" Now fifty years later I know! A dogie is a stray steer. Thank you John!

Subject: RE: BS: plural rules for words ending in ey ???
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 06 Apr 11 - 11:37 PM

Glad to clear up a fifty year puzzle for you, Eliza. There are many (well at least several) cowboy songs in which the term 'dogies' is used. I have on my computer twelve unique versions of "Get Along Little Dogies", also known as "Whoopie Ti-Yi-Yo". Two of them spell the word 'doggies', but use the proper long O pronunciation.