🔹 Apa Itu Foreign Plural Nouns?
Foreign plural nouns adalah kata benda (noun) yang berasal dari bahasa asing (seperti Latin, Yunani, atau Italia) yang masih mempertahankan bentuk jamak asli dari bahasa asalnya, bukan mengikuti aturan jamak bahasa Inggris biasa (misalnya: menambah “-s” atau “-es”).
🔹 Contoh Umum Foreign Plural Nouns
| Bentuk Tunggal (Singular) | Bentuk Jamak (Plural) | Asal Bahasa | Contoh Kalimat |
|---|---|---|---|
| alumnus | alumni | Latin | He is an alumnus of Harvard. / They are alumni of MIT. |
| bacterium | bacteria | Latin | Bacteria are invisible to the naked eye. |
| criterion | criteria | Greek | What are the main criteria for selection? |
| phenomenon | phenomena | Greek | These phenomena are hard to explain. |
| cactus | cacti / cactuses | Latin | I saw many cacti in the desert. |
| focus | foci / focuses | Latin | The foci of the lens were adjusted. |
| index | indices / indexes | Latin | Indexes are found at the back of books. |
| appendix | appendices / appendixes | Latin | Some books have appendices for extra info. |
| analysis | analyses | Greek | The scientist did several analyses. |
| thesis | theses | Greek | Their theses were approved by the committee. |
| diagnosis | diagnoses | Greek | The doctor made several diagnoses. |
| medium | media / mediums | Latin | The news media influence public opinion. |
🔹 Bentuk Jamak Ganda
Beberapa kata punya dua bentuk jamak:
| Kata | Bentuk Jamak Formal | Bentuk Jamak Umum (Modern) |
|---|---|---|
| cactus | cacti | cactuses |
| focus | foci | focuses |
| appendix | appendices | appendixes |
| index | indices (teknis) | indexes (umum) |
| medium | media (informasi) | mediums (spiritual) |
🔹 Ciri-Ciri dan Pola Umum
| Akhiran Singular | Akhiran Plural | Contoh |
|---|---|---|
| -us | -i | alumnus → alumni, fungus → fungi |
| -um | -a | datum → data, bacterium → bacteria |
| -a | -ae | formula → formulae (lebih formal) |
| -is | -es | analysis → analyses, crisis → crises |
| -on | -a | phenomenon → phenomena, criterion → criteria |
🔹 Tips Menggunakan Foreign Plural Nouns
-
✅ Gunakan bentuk plural yang sesuai konteks: formal/akademik lebih sering memakai bentuk asing.
-
✅ Dalam percakapan sehari-hari, bentuk Inggris modern (misalnya cactuses daripada cacti) semakin diterima.
-
❌ Jangan menambahkan “s” pada bentuk jamak asing.
Contoh salah: criterias, phenomenons, alumnis