IRREGULAR PLURAL NOUNS (EMPHASIS/EMPHASES)â 

Welcome back, everyone!

Today is day three of our Irregular Plural Nouns week. We are looking at irregular nouns that do not follow the normal patterns when they become plural. (In most cases, we add -s or -es to the noun.)

Today we are looking at the word EMPHASIS. It is irregular because the singular version is EMPHASIS and the plural is EMPHASES. It is irregular because we are changing the "-is" ending to "-es" (and not "Emphasises"). And notice the difference in the pronunciation! EMPHASIS vs. EMPHASES.

Example 1: The politician's speech puts an emphasis on the importance of decreasing taxes. 

Example 2: The two main emphases of the President’s speech were decreasing taxes and increasing the funding to local schools. 

Example 3: Your pronunciation is wrong. You are putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable. 

Example 4: The emphases of the President's speech are on two problems with the government: spending and education.

That's all for today. Have a great day! We will see you tomorrow.