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What is the Plural of Thief?

Byletslearnenglishtogether.com

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What is the right way to make “thief” plural. Should it be “thiefs” or “thieves”?

The plural of “thief” is “thieves.”

Plural of thief

Making Thief Plural

Other plurals:

“Thief” does not just add an “s” or “es” to become plural like some words. Instead, its spelling changes completely. This irregular plural can make people uncertain about the right plural form. But over time the proper plural in English was set as “thieves.”

Why Is There Confusion Over the Plural of Thief?

There are some reasons why people might think “thief” becomes “thiefs” plural:

  • It does not follow the normal plural rule of adding “s”
  • It looks like words like “brief” or “chief” that add “s” to become plural
  • In casual talk, some people incorrectly say “thiefs”

But standard English says the plural is “thieves.”

Is Thief A Countable or Uncountable Noun?

Thief is a word you can count. You can say one thief. Or you can say two thieves. Or three thieves. You add an “s” to thief to make it plural.

You cannot count words like happiness or advice. But you can count thief.

What’s the Collective Noun for Thief?

The word used for a group of thieves is “a gang of thieves.” Other group words like “band” or “crew” work too.

Plural Of Thief Example Sentences

Here are some examples with plural thieves:

  • The thieves took jewelry and money from the houses they broke into.
  • The bank robbers escaped, but police caught the thieves after.
  • The two thieves worked together to steal wallets at the crowded festival.

What Thief Means

The dictionary defines thief as: “Someone who steals secretly”

Origin Of The Word Thief

The word thief dates back over 1,000 years, originally coming from old Germanic languages.

Wrapping it Up

So in summary the right plural of thief is “thieves,” not “thiefs.” This unusual plural sometimes trips people up, but follows long grammar rules. Next time you talk about more than one thief, you can be sure to say “thieves!”

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