Plural of Analysis | Spelling & Examples
The plural of the noun analysis is analyses, pronounced [uh-nal-uh-seez]. “Analysis” is a Greek-derived word and follows the Greek pluralization rule of changing the “-is” at the end of the singular form to “-es” to form the plural.
Her analyses of market trends helped the company predict consumer behavior.
Analyses vs. analysis
The word analysis means the in-depth process of examining something to understand its structure, components, or elements. It’s often done to gain insights, solve problems, or form conclusions by exploring the smaller parts of the whole.
Analyses is the plural of analysis and can refer to multiple examinations of a single thing, a single examination of multiple things, or multiple examinations of multiple things.
A single analysis of customer behavior helped guide the marketing strategy, but analyses of buying behavior, website user experience, and market trends increased the company’s long-term profitability.
In US English, “analyses” is the plural form of the noun “analysis,” while the verb form is “analyzes” (e.g., Their analyses were detailed” or “He analyzes the data every morning”).
In UK English, the verb and plural noun forms are both spelled “analyses” (as the third-person singular present tense of “analyse”) due to the common use of “-ise” instead of “-ize” (e.g., “She analyses the data carefully” or “The analyses revealed a lot of insights”).
What are irregular plurals?
The word analyses is considered an irregular plural noun. Unlike regular plural nouns (e.g., book/books and fox/foxes), you can’t simply add an “-s” or “-es” to the singular form of an irregular plural noun.
This is why the plural of “analysis” is not “analysises,” even though this is a common misspelling.
“Analysis” is a Greek-derived word and follows Greek pluralization rules, meaning you change the “-is” at the end of the singular form to “-es” to create the plural (e.g., analysis/analyses and axis/axes).
Not all irregular plurals come from Greek pluralization rules. Some irregular plurals come from Latin-derived words, and others come from other linguistic origins like Old English.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| man | men |
| goose | geese |
| cactus | cacti |
| thesis | theses |
| ox | oxen |
| knife | knives |
Another type of irregular plural is called a zero plural. This type of irregular plural remains the same whether the word is singular or plural.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| species | species |
| luggage | luggage |
| salmon | salmon |
| swine | swine |
Frequently asked questions about the plural of analysis
- Why is “analysises” not the plural of “analysis”?
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The plural of analysis is analyses because it’s an irregular plural that doesn’t follow the pluralization rules of regular plural nouns. It’s grammatically incorrect to simply add an “-s” or “-es” to “analysis” and call it “analysises.”
“Analysis” is an irregular plural that follows the Greek pluralization rules, meaning you must change the “-is” at the end of the singular form to “-es” to form the plural.
Scribbr’s free Grammar Checker can help you make sure you’re using the correct plural forms of words.
- Is “analysis” singular or plural?
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The word analysis is a singular noun. The plural of analysis is analyses.
Scribbr’s free Grammar Checker can help you make sure you’re using the correct plural forms of words.
- What is the plural of “crisis”?
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The plural of “crisis” is “crises.” It’s a loanword from Latin and retains its original Latin plural noun form (similar to “analyses” and “bases”). It’s wrong to write “crisises.”
For example, you might write “Several crises destabilized the regime.”
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Cove, R. (2024, September 25). Plural of Analysis | Spelling & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved December 3, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/plurals/analysis-plural/
