Socks or sock? This question introduces into a stupor not only those people who use these words in a letter, but also those who pronounce them out loud. In this regard, in the presented article, we decided to give an exhaustive answer to it.
general information
How to: sock or sock? According to the rules of the Russian language on the formation of the plural of any paired subjects, this word should sound and be used in the letter as follows: socks. For those who nevertheless doubt the information presented, comprehensive arguments are given below.
Socks or sock?
Before presenting to your attention the rule of the Russian language on the formation of the plural of any paired subjects, it should be said that both of these words have every right to exist. In order for you to see this, we give a few examples:
- Lost sock. Where is he?
- You should take a pair of socks to change.
As you can see, both options are quite acceptable for oral or written use. But here a new question arises about how to understand in which context the word “socks” should be used, and in which “sock”? To do this, return to the examples and analyze them:
1. "Lost sock. Where is he?" This proposal deals with one subject that has disappeared somewhere.
2. "You should take a pair of socks for a change." This passage speaks of several subjects, moreover, paired.
From the presented analysis, we can safely conclude how to write: socks or sock. In other words, the "socks" option should be used only for the plural, and the "sock" for the singular. Only in this way will your speech be literate, and the letter where this expression is used will be written correctly.
But what rule do we rely on when we talk about such spelling? We present it to your attention right now.
Patterns of formation of plural forms of nouns in the genitive case
A pair of socks or a pair of socks? In order to answer the question posed, it is necessary to study the simplest rule of the Russian language about ending s in plural nouns in the genitive case. It should be especially noted that this rule is characterized by such features:
- It is suitable for most masculine nouns, which in their initial form and singular end in a solid consonant. Here are a few examples for clarity: fly agaric - fly agaric, sock - socks, computer - computers, etc.
- This rule applies not only to ordinary objects, but also to the names of all kinds of fruits, fruits, vegetables, etc. The main thing is that they are masculine nouns that in the initial form of the singular end in a solid consonant. For clarity, we give a few examples: an orange - six oranges, an eggplant - a kilogram of eggplant, a tomato - a tomato salad, mandarin - New Year's Day without mandarins.
Exceptions to the Rules
Almost no rule in Russian is complete without exceptions. And as described above including. In order to correctly deliver your speech or write any article, it is recommended to remember or memorize them.
So, from the rule of the Russian language on the formation of the plural of paired subjects (nouns), a rather extensive number of exceptions is distinguished. These include those words (nouns) that have a zero ending in the genitive and plural forms. Here are a few examples: one Ossetian - six Ossetians, one stocking - no stockings, one gram - six grams or six grams, etc.
The fact that the word "socks" (plural) in the genitive has an ending s, we learned above. But what rule obey those expressions for which it is zero?
Zero ending in plural nouns
To understand why "socks, but" stocking ", you must refer to the following rule:
- The zero ending in the plural words in the genitive is in those cases when it comes to any nationality of a person, as well as about his belonging to military associations. However, this applies only to those expressions that are used in a collective sense. In order to make the presented rule more understandable, let us consider several illustrative examples: Turkmens - five Turkmens, Magyars - several Magyars, partisans - two partisans, midshipmen - five midshipmen (five midshipmen are also acceptable), soldiers - an army of soldiers, five people and etc.
- Also, the rule presented applies to all kinds of names of paired items. For example: eyes - eye, boots - boot, boots - boot, stockings - stocking, cuffs - cuffs, epaulettes - epaulettes, epaulettes - shoulder straps (but socks - socks!).
- Among other things, it is customary to set the zero ending for different units of measure and the name of the measure. Let's give an example: 1000 watts, 230 volts, 500 gigabytes, 5 amperes. But if the same words are not used in a "measuring" context, then the ending -s should be added to them. For example, in such sentences: “There are not enough gigabytes for downloading a program on a flash drive”, “It’s good to live without excess kilograms”.
Notes
Now you know that the correct declension of the word “socks” implies that in the genitive case it has an ending -s, which cannot be said about the word “stocking”. However, using the presented rule on education, pl. including nouns, it is not recommended to forget about the following features:
- For some kinds of nouns, the formation of the plural and genitive is rather difficult. For example, words such as a chump, pleas and a dream.
- The words "drovets" and "sches" have no other forms than the genitive and the plural with a zero ending.
Comic rule
In order to remember how to write the words “socks” and “stockings” in the plural and genitive, some teachers recommend the following comic rule: socks are short, so they need to be lengthened - socks, stockings are long, so they need to be shortened - stocking.