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What is the plural of the word 'Wife'?
A. Wifes
B. Wives
C. Wifves
D. Wive
Correct Answer Is Option = Wives
Notes / Explanation
The plural of the word wife is wives, and this is an example of a special rule in English for forming the plural of certain words that end in the letters f or fe, a rule that is important for anyone studying English for competitive examinations. In English, most nouns form their plural by adding the letter s to the singular form. However, for a number of words that end in the letter f or in the letters fe, the plural is formed not by simply adding s, but by changing the f or fe to v and then adding es, so that the ending changes to ves. The word wife ends in fe, and its plural is formed by changing the fe to v and adding es, giving wives. This same rule applies to a number of other words that end in f or fe, such as the word knife, which becomes knives, the word leaf, which becomes leaves, the word half, which becomes halves, the word life, which becomes lives, the word wolf, which becomes wolves, and the word thief, which becomes thieves, all of which change the f or fe to v and add es to form the plural. It is important to note, however, that this rule does not apply to all words ending in f; some words ending in f simply add s in the ordinary way to form their plural, such as the word roof, which becomes roofs, and certain others, so that the rule of changing f to v applies to some words but not to all, and the words to which it applies must be learnt. A common mistake is to simply add s to a word like wife, producing an incorrect form such as wifes instead of wives. Learning the rules for forming plurals, including this rule for certain words ending in f or fe, is an important part of using English correctly. For PPSC and other competitive examinations, the key points to remember are that the plural of wife is wives, that for a number of words ending in f or fe the plural is formed by changing the f or fe to v and adding es, so that the ending becomes ves, that this rule applies to words such as knife becoming knives, leaf becoming leaves, and half becoming halves, and that the rule does not apply to all words ending in f, some of which simply add s, so that the words to which it applies must be learnt.
