Plural in the first element in some compounds

attorney general/attorneys general, court-martial/courts-martiai man-of-war>men~of-war, mother-in-law/mothers-in-law (but in laws in general references: Our in-laws are staying with us)] notary public/notaries public, spoonful/spoonsful (or spoonfuls).

Plural in the first and last element

When the first element is man or woman, then both elements change man student'men students woman student/women students, but note compounds with lady lady friend lady friends. Other compounds with man and woman form their plurals only in the second word: man-eaters, manholes, woman-haters, etc. [> 2.10.9]

The plural of proper nouns

Plural surnames occur when we refer to families:

+ -s; The Atkinsons/The Frys are coming to dinner

+ -es; They're forever trying to keep up with the Joneses

Gender

Other examples with proper nouns are:

There are three Janes and two Harrys in our family

We've had two very cold Januarys in a row [not -ies > 2.20]

We do not add -(e)s to the spelling where this would suggest a

false pronunciation: three King Louis the Dumas father and son

2.37 Numbers and their plurals [> APP 47]
2.37.1 Dozen(s), hundred(s), etc.

The word dozen and numbers do not add -s when they are used in front of plural nouns: two dozen eggs three hundred men ten thousand pounds, etc. They add -s before of (i.e. when the number is not specified):

Hundreds of people are going to the demonstration Thousands of pounds have been spent on the new hospital I said it was a secret but she s told dozens of people

237-2 'A whole amount'

When the reference is to 'a whole amount' a plural subject is followed by a singular verb, with reference to:

Duration: Three weeks is a long time to wait for an answer Money: Two hundred pounds is a lot to spend on a dress Distance: Forty miles is a long way to walk in a day

2.38 Two nouns joined by 'and'

Nouns that commonly go together such as bacon and eggs, bread and butter, cheese and wine fish and chips, lemon and oil, tripe and onions, sausage(s) and mash are used with verbs in the singular when we think of them as a single unit. Noun combinations of this kind have a fixed order of words: Fish and chips is a popular meal in Britain

If we think of the items as 'separate', we use a plural verb: Fish and chips make a good meal

Gender