What is the plural of the noun “go” (as in “have a go”)?

The name of the pictureThe name of the pictureThe name of the pictureClash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP





.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;







up vote
14
down vote

favorite
1












If I were to try to achieve something you could say I "had a go".



If I tried it multiple times, how would I write that down?




I had many goes




or




I had many go's




or




I had many gos











share|improve this question























  • Just an example (If I understand you correctly): "I had a go on Tom's bike", "He let me have many **** on it". Instinct tells me it has to be the third option, but a Google books search says nobody else agrees with that. Plus, TFD has a listing for the plural noun, so I guess we have to go with that.
    – Pam
    11 hours ago






  • 6




    I believe it's "goes".
    – BillJ
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    You can find it in the dictionary that 'go' as a singular noun has the plural form of 'goes'. I often hear this 'go' in the phrase: 'on the go'; or 'have a go' ... I almost never hear this as a plural in this context though...and since this phrase is rather informal, I wonder if our discussion will be beneficial for the improvement of English language. Be careful with the noun 'go' which means a Japanese board game of territorial possession and capture (it is a mass noun) or a street name for methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Source: en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go
    – Flonne Lightberry
    11 hours ago







  • 1




    Goes is already established as the spelling for go + 3SgPres; since the NPlural morpheme is identical in shape to 3SgPres, goes is the plural spelling, too.
    – John Lawler
    10 hours ago







  • 2




    As the answers indicate, "goes" is correct. Still, I would use "tries", or "attempts", or "turns" instead To my ear, it sounds much better to say, 'I had many tries' rather than 'I had many goes'. Quite honestly, the latter sounds like you may be having some digestive problems.
    – Michael J.
    8 hours ago
















up vote
14
down vote

favorite
1












If I were to try to achieve something you could say I "had a go".



If I tried it multiple times, how would I write that down?




I had many goes




or




I had many go's




or




I had many gos











share|improve this question























  • Just an example (If I understand you correctly): "I had a go on Tom's bike", "He let me have many **** on it". Instinct tells me it has to be the third option, but a Google books search says nobody else agrees with that. Plus, TFD has a listing for the plural noun, so I guess we have to go with that.
    – Pam
    11 hours ago






  • 6




    I believe it's "goes".
    – BillJ
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    You can find it in the dictionary that 'go' as a singular noun has the plural form of 'goes'. I often hear this 'go' in the phrase: 'on the go'; or 'have a go' ... I almost never hear this as a plural in this context though...and since this phrase is rather informal, I wonder if our discussion will be beneficial for the improvement of English language. Be careful with the noun 'go' which means a Japanese board game of territorial possession and capture (it is a mass noun) or a street name for methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Source: en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go
    – Flonne Lightberry
    11 hours ago







  • 1




    Goes is already established as the spelling for go + 3SgPres; since the NPlural morpheme is identical in shape to 3SgPres, goes is the plural spelling, too.
    – John Lawler
    10 hours ago







  • 2




    As the answers indicate, "goes" is correct. Still, I would use "tries", or "attempts", or "turns" instead To my ear, it sounds much better to say, 'I had many tries' rather than 'I had many goes'. Quite honestly, the latter sounds like you may be having some digestive problems.
    – Michael J.
    8 hours ago












up vote
14
down vote

favorite
1









up vote
14
down vote

favorite
1






1





If I were to try to achieve something you could say I "had a go".



If I tried it multiple times, how would I write that down?




I had many goes




or




I had many go's




or




I had many gos











share|improve this question















If I were to try to achieve something you could say I "had a go".



If I tried it multiple times, how would I write that down?




I had many goes




or




I had many go's




or




I had many gos








nouns grammatical-number orthography






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 52 mins ago









sumelic

44k7105206




44k7105206










asked 11 hours ago









Tom.Bowen89

1,9122714




1,9122714











  • Just an example (If I understand you correctly): "I had a go on Tom's bike", "He let me have many **** on it". Instinct tells me it has to be the third option, but a Google books search says nobody else agrees with that. Plus, TFD has a listing for the plural noun, so I guess we have to go with that.
    – Pam
    11 hours ago






  • 6




    I believe it's "goes".
    – BillJ
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    You can find it in the dictionary that 'go' as a singular noun has the plural form of 'goes'. I often hear this 'go' in the phrase: 'on the go'; or 'have a go' ... I almost never hear this as a plural in this context though...and since this phrase is rather informal, I wonder if our discussion will be beneficial for the improvement of English language. Be careful with the noun 'go' which means a Japanese board game of territorial possession and capture (it is a mass noun) or a street name for methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Source: en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go
    – Flonne Lightberry
    11 hours ago







  • 1




    Goes is already established as the spelling for go + 3SgPres; since the NPlural morpheme is identical in shape to 3SgPres, goes is the plural spelling, too.
    – John Lawler
    10 hours ago







  • 2




    As the answers indicate, "goes" is correct. Still, I would use "tries", or "attempts", or "turns" instead To my ear, it sounds much better to say, 'I had many tries' rather than 'I had many goes'. Quite honestly, the latter sounds like you may be having some digestive problems.
    – Michael J.
    8 hours ago
















  • Just an example (If I understand you correctly): "I had a go on Tom's bike", "He let me have many **** on it". Instinct tells me it has to be the third option, but a Google books search says nobody else agrees with that. Plus, TFD has a listing for the plural noun, so I guess we have to go with that.
    – Pam
    11 hours ago






  • 6




    I believe it's "goes".
    – BillJ
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    You can find it in the dictionary that 'go' as a singular noun has the plural form of 'goes'. I often hear this 'go' in the phrase: 'on the go'; or 'have a go' ... I almost never hear this as a plural in this context though...and since this phrase is rather informal, I wonder if our discussion will be beneficial for the improvement of English language. Be careful with the noun 'go' which means a Japanese board game of territorial possession and capture (it is a mass noun) or a street name for methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Source: en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go
    – Flonne Lightberry
    11 hours ago







  • 1




    Goes is already established as the spelling for go + 3SgPres; since the NPlural morpheme is identical in shape to 3SgPres, goes is the plural spelling, too.
    – John Lawler
    10 hours ago







  • 2




    As the answers indicate, "goes" is correct. Still, I would use "tries", or "attempts", or "turns" instead To my ear, it sounds much better to say, 'I had many tries' rather than 'I had many goes'. Quite honestly, the latter sounds like you may be having some digestive problems.
    – Michael J.
    8 hours ago















Just an example (If I understand you correctly): "I had a go on Tom's bike", "He let me have many **** on it". Instinct tells me it has to be the third option, but a Google books search says nobody else agrees with that. Plus, TFD has a listing for the plural noun, so I guess we have to go with that.
– Pam
11 hours ago




Just an example (If I understand you correctly): "I had a go on Tom's bike", "He let me have many **** on it". Instinct tells me it has to be the third option, but a Google books search says nobody else agrees with that. Plus, TFD has a listing for the plural noun, so I guess we have to go with that.
– Pam
11 hours ago




6




6




I believe it's "goes".
– BillJ
11 hours ago




I believe it's "goes".
– BillJ
11 hours ago




1




1




You can find it in the dictionary that 'go' as a singular noun has the plural form of 'goes'. I often hear this 'go' in the phrase: 'on the go'; or 'have a go' ... I almost never hear this as a plural in this context though...and since this phrase is rather informal, I wonder if our discussion will be beneficial for the improvement of English language. Be careful with the noun 'go' which means a Japanese board game of territorial possession and capture (it is a mass noun) or a street name for methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Source: en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go
– Flonne Lightberry
11 hours ago





You can find it in the dictionary that 'go' as a singular noun has the plural form of 'goes'. I often hear this 'go' in the phrase: 'on the go'; or 'have a go' ... I almost never hear this as a plural in this context though...and since this phrase is rather informal, I wonder if our discussion will be beneficial for the improvement of English language. Be careful with the noun 'go' which means a Japanese board game of territorial possession and capture (it is a mass noun) or a street name for methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Source: en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go
– Flonne Lightberry
11 hours ago





1




1




Goes is already established as the spelling for go + 3SgPres; since the NPlural morpheme is identical in shape to 3SgPres, goes is the plural spelling, too.
– John Lawler
10 hours ago





Goes is already established as the spelling for go + 3SgPres; since the NPlural morpheme is identical in shape to 3SgPres, goes is the plural spelling, too.
– John Lawler
10 hours ago





2




2




As the answers indicate, "goes" is correct. Still, I would use "tries", or "attempts", or "turns" instead To my ear, it sounds much better to say, 'I had many tries' rather than 'I had many goes'. Quite honestly, the latter sounds like you may be having some digestive problems.
– Michael J.
8 hours ago




As the answers indicate, "goes" is correct. Still, I would use "tries", or "attempts", or "turns" instead To my ear, it sounds much better to say, 'I had many tries' rather than 'I had many goes'. Quite honestly, the latter sounds like you may be having some digestive problems.
– Michael J.
8 hours ago










4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
25
down vote













The dictionaries I've checked seem to be unanimous that the plural of the noun "go" is "goes". I didn't see one list its plural as "gos". However, I didn't check all dictionaries.



American Heritage Dictionary:

n. pl. goes



Collins Dictionary:

n, pl goes



Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

plural goes



Cambridge Dictionary:

plural goes



Random House Unabridged Dictionary (dictionary.com):

plural goes



Google NGram Viewer does not show any results for "two gos at" or "two gos at", but does when written as "goes".



A Google search shows the following results:



"two gos at" = 453 results.

"two goes at" = 19,500 results.

"three gos at" = 252 results.

"three goes at" = 20,200 results.



Note that both Google search and Ngram Viewer may show false positives, as Google search, as far as I know, doesn't take punctuation into account when giving search results, ie., full stops, commas. But I think it's safe to assume the consensus is that the plural of go (attempt or try) is "goes".



I think this is a good question, as somewhere in my head I have an instinct to write it "gos". However the answer is gotten easily by checking some dictionaries.



Also, if you wrote "I had three gos at it before giving up", I have a feeling the typical reader probably wouldn't even be surprised by it or notice it particularly as wrong. This is just my opinion. I have this feeling because the "-os"/"-oes" plural ending rules are wildly inconsistent. Potatoes, tomatoes and heroes are correct. But "photos" and "burritos" are correct. However most dictionaries seem to list either "-os" or "-oes" ending as acceptable in "ghetto" and "mosquito".



Both "mosquito" and "burrito" most likely come from Spanish, yet most dictionaries say only "mosquito" can have plural ending either "-os" or "oes", whereas they're consistent in listing "-os" for burrito plural. Same goes for "canto", "manifesto" and "grotto". These words most likely come from Italian, yet the plural of "canto" is "cantos", whereas the dictionaries say the plural of "grotto" or "manifesto" can end in either "-os" or "-oes". It's actually a tricky topic.






share|improve this answer






















  • You can find 'goes' in the WordWeb Dictionary" wordwebonline.com/search.pl?w=go
    – Flonne Lightberry
    10 hours ago






  • 2




    "I have a feeling the typical reader probably wouldn't even be surprised by it or notice it particularly as wrong." This typical British reader would. "Gos" looks like it's a singular noun pronounced "Goss" to rhyme with "boss" or "moss" (with a British English "o" sound, not the American English vowel which is closer to a long "a" than a BrE "o").
    – alephzero
    9 hours ago






  • 1




    @alephzero Yes, you're right, I hope the way I phrased it didn't come off as being a certain claim, it was just my feeling of the "typical" person. I probably exclude people who use this site as typical readers, like you. Sorry if this wasn't clear. We also have the case the of "yeses and nos/noes", where many dictionaries recognise the plural of "no" as either "nos" or "noes". The "nos" spelling I imagine would look like what you have pointed out, ie., "noss".
    – Zebrafish
    7 hours ago






  • 2




    If I read "I had three gos on Bob's bike" I would never guess that it referred to "a go". Apart from the borrowed words which have brought their native plurals along with them, nouns that end in "o" take "es" to form the plural, so it's "goes" for sure.
    – CCTO
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    The "-os"/"-oes" endings aren't all that inconsistent. The default is to include the e, but words imported from Romance languages use "-os". The increasing use of "mosquitoes" is a study in the normalization of an imported Spanish word.
    – chrylis
    6 hours ago

















up vote
5
down vote













There is an alternate construction which expresses plurality using a singular conjugation, which may be of interest. Tho slightly odd, it has a history of use, and is readily understood:




"many a go"




As in:




We've had many a go at this.



I'll have many a go.







share|improve this answer




















  • Technically, verbs are conjugated, nouns are inflected.
    – Acccumulation
    5 hours ago

















up vote
-1
down vote













In most usage I have heard, I would consider the phrase "a go at it" to be non-count. In other words, it does not specify the number of tries and thus neither singular nor plural.



Though, VizJS answer does seem to be a logical plural.






share|improve this answer








New contributor




ravery is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

















  • A "go" is singular and specifies a single attempt. I can't see how it's non-count if I can have "several goes" - which I should note is a common if informal expression in my experience (Aust. Eng.).
    – Chappo
    1 min ago

















up vote
-2
down vote













Not what the OP intended...



The noun go (a Japanese board game) has the English plural gos. Perhaps one could even say "I had a go" with this meaning.






share|improve this answer
















  • 3




    No, you can't say 'gos' for Go which means a Japanese board game. It's a mass noun (uncountable): en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go (example: ‘The game that does seem to me to be superior to chess, in that it has both depth and simplicity, is the Japanese game of Go.’)
    – Flonne Lightberry
    10 hours ago






  • 7




    So the plural of chess is chesses, right? "I had a chess"? I don't think so...
    – TonyK
    8 hours ago







  • 6




    I had a chess set. I played many chess games. I had a go set. I played many go games. I had many goes at go. I had many goes at chess.
    – DoverAudio
    7 hours ago






  • 1




    I've never had a chess at go though, in my entire checkered past.
    – Monty Harder
    4 hours ago






  • 1




    @MontyHarder Get a Clue, you don't have a Monopoly on Go.
    – Barmar
    2 hours ago










Your Answer








StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);

else
createEditor();

);

function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);



);













 

draft saved


draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f471915%2fwhat-is-the-plural-of-the-noun-go-as-in-have-a-go%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest






























4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes








4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes








up vote
25
down vote













The dictionaries I've checked seem to be unanimous that the plural of the noun "go" is "goes". I didn't see one list its plural as "gos". However, I didn't check all dictionaries.



American Heritage Dictionary:

n. pl. goes



Collins Dictionary:

n, pl goes



Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

plural goes



Cambridge Dictionary:

plural goes



Random House Unabridged Dictionary (dictionary.com):

plural goes



Google NGram Viewer does not show any results for "two gos at" or "two gos at", but does when written as "goes".



A Google search shows the following results:



"two gos at" = 453 results.

"two goes at" = 19,500 results.

"three gos at" = 252 results.

"three goes at" = 20,200 results.



Note that both Google search and Ngram Viewer may show false positives, as Google search, as far as I know, doesn't take punctuation into account when giving search results, ie., full stops, commas. But I think it's safe to assume the consensus is that the plural of go (attempt or try) is "goes".



I think this is a good question, as somewhere in my head I have an instinct to write it "gos". However the answer is gotten easily by checking some dictionaries.



Also, if you wrote "I had three gos at it before giving up", I have a feeling the typical reader probably wouldn't even be surprised by it or notice it particularly as wrong. This is just my opinion. I have this feeling because the "-os"/"-oes" plural ending rules are wildly inconsistent. Potatoes, tomatoes and heroes are correct. But "photos" and "burritos" are correct. However most dictionaries seem to list either "-os" or "-oes" ending as acceptable in "ghetto" and "mosquito".



Both "mosquito" and "burrito" most likely come from Spanish, yet most dictionaries say only "mosquito" can have plural ending either "-os" or "oes", whereas they're consistent in listing "-os" for burrito plural. Same goes for "canto", "manifesto" and "grotto". These words most likely come from Italian, yet the plural of "canto" is "cantos", whereas the dictionaries say the plural of "grotto" or "manifesto" can end in either "-os" or "-oes". It's actually a tricky topic.






share|improve this answer






















  • You can find 'goes' in the WordWeb Dictionary" wordwebonline.com/search.pl?w=go
    – Flonne Lightberry
    10 hours ago






  • 2




    "I have a feeling the typical reader probably wouldn't even be surprised by it or notice it particularly as wrong." This typical British reader would. "Gos" looks like it's a singular noun pronounced "Goss" to rhyme with "boss" or "moss" (with a British English "o" sound, not the American English vowel which is closer to a long "a" than a BrE "o").
    – alephzero
    9 hours ago






  • 1




    @alephzero Yes, you're right, I hope the way I phrased it didn't come off as being a certain claim, it was just my feeling of the "typical" person. I probably exclude people who use this site as typical readers, like you. Sorry if this wasn't clear. We also have the case the of "yeses and nos/noes", where many dictionaries recognise the plural of "no" as either "nos" or "noes". The "nos" spelling I imagine would look like what you have pointed out, ie., "noss".
    – Zebrafish
    7 hours ago






  • 2




    If I read "I had three gos on Bob's bike" I would never guess that it referred to "a go". Apart from the borrowed words which have brought their native plurals along with them, nouns that end in "o" take "es" to form the plural, so it's "goes" for sure.
    – CCTO
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    The "-os"/"-oes" endings aren't all that inconsistent. The default is to include the e, but words imported from Romance languages use "-os". The increasing use of "mosquitoes" is a study in the normalization of an imported Spanish word.
    – chrylis
    6 hours ago














up vote
25
down vote













The dictionaries I've checked seem to be unanimous that the plural of the noun "go" is "goes". I didn't see one list its plural as "gos". However, I didn't check all dictionaries.



American Heritage Dictionary:

n. pl. goes



Collins Dictionary:

n, pl goes



Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

plural goes



Cambridge Dictionary:

plural goes



Random House Unabridged Dictionary (dictionary.com):

plural goes



Google NGram Viewer does not show any results for "two gos at" or "two gos at", but does when written as "goes".



A Google search shows the following results:



"two gos at" = 453 results.

"two goes at" = 19,500 results.

"three gos at" = 252 results.

"three goes at" = 20,200 results.



Note that both Google search and Ngram Viewer may show false positives, as Google search, as far as I know, doesn't take punctuation into account when giving search results, ie., full stops, commas. But I think it's safe to assume the consensus is that the plural of go (attempt or try) is "goes".



I think this is a good question, as somewhere in my head I have an instinct to write it "gos". However the answer is gotten easily by checking some dictionaries.



Also, if you wrote "I had three gos at it before giving up", I have a feeling the typical reader probably wouldn't even be surprised by it or notice it particularly as wrong. This is just my opinion. I have this feeling because the "-os"/"-oes" plural ending rules are wildly inconsistent. Potatoes, tomatoes and heroes are correct. But "photos" and "burritos" are correct. However most dictionaries seem to list either "-os" or "-oes" ending as acceptable in "ghetto" and "mosquito".



Both "mosquito" and "burrito" most likely come from Spanish, yet most dictionaries say only "mosquito" can have plural ending either "-os" or "oes", whereas they're consistent in listing "-os" for burrito plural. Same goes for "canto", "manifesto" and "grotto". These words most likely come from Italian, yet the plural of "canto" is "cantos", whereas the dictionaries say the plural of "grotto" or "manifesto" can end in either "-os" or "-oes". It's actually a tricky topic.






share|improve this answer






















  • You can find 'goes' in the WordWeb Dictionary" wordwebonline.com/search.pl?w=go
    – Flonne Lightberry
    10 hours ago






  • 2




    "I have a feeling the typical reader probably wouldn't even be surprised by it or notice it particularly as wrong." This typical British reader would. "Gos" looks like it's a singular noun pronounced "Goss" to rhyme with "boss" or "moss" (with a British English "o" sound, not the American English vowel which is closer to a long "a" than a BrE "o").
    – alephzero
    9 hours ago






  • 1




    @alephzero Yes, you're right, I hope the way I phrased it didn't come off as being a certain claim, it was just my feeling of the "typical" person. I probably exclude people who use this site as typical readers, like you. Sorry if this wasn't clear. We also have the case the of "yeses and nos/noes", where many dictionaries recognise the plural of "no" as either "nos" or "noes". The "nos" spelling I imagine would look like what you have pointed out, ie., "noss".
    – Zebrafish
    7 hours ago






  • 2




    If I read "I had three gos on Bob's bike" I would never guess that it referred to "a go". Apart from the borrowed words which have brought their native plurals along with them, nouns that end in "o" take "es" to form the plural, so it's "goes" for sure.
    – CCTO
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    The "-os"/"-oes" endings aren't all that inconsistent. The default is to include the e, but words imported from Romance languages use "-os". The increasing use of "mosquitoes" is a study in the normalization of an imported Spanish word.
    – chrylis
    6 hours ago












up vote
25
down vote










up vote
25
down vote









The dictionaries I've checked seem to be unanimous that the plural of the noun "go" is "goes". I didn't see one list its plural as "gos". However, I didn't check all dictionaries.



American Heritage Dictionary:

n. pl. goes



Collins Dictionary:

n, pl goes



Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

plural goes



Cambridge Dictionary:

plural goes



Random House Unabridged Dictionary (dictionary.com):

plural goes



Google NGram Viewer does not show any results for "two gos at" or "two gos at", but does when written as "goes".



A Google search shows the following results:



"two gos at" = 453 results.

"two goes at" = 19,500 results.

"three gos at" = 252 results.

"three goes at" = 20,200 results.



Note that both Google search and Ngram Viewer may show false positives, as Google search, as far as I know, doesn't take punctuation into account when giving search results, ie., full stops, commas. But I think it's safe to assume the consensus is that the plural of go (attempt or try) is "goes".



I think this is a good question, as somewhere in my head I have an instinct to write it "gos". However the answer is gotten easily by checking some dictionaries.



Also, if you wrote "I had three gos at it before giving up", I have a feeling the typical reader probably wouldn't even be surprised by it or notice it particularly as wrong. This is just my opinion. I have this feeling because the "-os"/"-oes" plural ending rules are wildly inconsistent. Potatoes, tomatoes and heroes are correct. But "photos" and "burritos" are correct. However most dictionaries seem to list either "-os" or "-oes" ending as acceptable in "ghetto" and "mosquito".



Both "mosquito" and "burrito" most likely come from Spanish, yet most dictionaries say only "mosquito" can have plural ending either "-os" or "oes", whereas they're consistent in listing "-os" for burrito plural. Same goes for "canto", "manifesto" and "grotto". These words most likely come from Italian, yet the plural of "canto" is "cantos", whereas the dictionaries say the plural of "grotto" or "manifesto" can end in either "-os" or "-oes". It's actually a tricky topic.






share|improve this answer














The dictionaries I've checked seem to be unanimous that the plural of the noun "go" is "goes". I didn't see one list its plural as "gos". However, I didn't check all dictionaries.



American Heritage Dictionary:

n. pl. goes



Collins Dictionary:

n, pl goes



Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

plural goes



Cambridge Dictionary:

plural goes



Random House Unabridged Dictionary (dictionary.com):

plural goes



Google NGram Viewer does not show any results for "two gos at" or "two gos at", but does when written as "goes".



A Google search shows the following results:



"two gos at" = 453 results.

"two goes at" = 19,500 results.

"three gos at" = 252 results.

"three goes at" = 20,200 results.



Note that both Google search and Ngram Viewer may show false positives, as Google search, as far as I know, doesn't take punctuation into account when giving search results, ie., full stops, commas. But I think it's safe to assume the consensus is that the plural of go (attempt or try) is "goes".



I think this is a good question, as somewhere in my head I have an instinct to write it "gos". However the answer is gotten easily by checking some dictionaries.



Also, if you wrote "I had three gos at it before giving up", I have a feeling the typical reader probably wouldn't even be surprised by it or notice it particularly as wrong. This is just my opinion. I have this feeling because the "-os"/"-oes" plural ending rules are wildly inconsistent. Potatoes, tomatoes and heroes are correct. But "photos" and "burritos" are correct. However most dictionaries seem to list either "-os" or "-oes" ending as acceptable in "ghetto" and "mosquito".



Both "mosquito" and "burrito" most likely come from Spanish, yet most dictionaries say only "mosquito" can have plural ending either "-os" or "oes", whereas they're consistent in listing "-os" for burrito plural. Same goes for "canto", "manifesto" and "grotto". These words most likely come from Italian, yet the plural of "canto" is "cantos", whereas the dictionaries say the plural of "grotto" or "manifesto" can end in either "-os" or "-oes". It's actually a tricky topic.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 10 hours ago

























answered 11 hours ago









Zebrafish

8,32321232




8,32321232











  • You can find 'goes' in the WordWeb Dictionary" wordwebonline.com/search.pl?w=go
    – Flonne Lightberry
    10 hours ago






  • 2




    "I have a feeling the typical reader probably wouldn't even be surprised by it or notice it particularly as wrong." This typical British reader would. "Gos" looks like it's a singular noun pronounced "Goss" to rhyme with "boss" or "moss" (with a British English "o" sound, not the American English vowel which is closer to a long "a" than a BrE "o").
    – alephzero
    9 hours ago






  • 1




    @alephzero Yes, you're right, I hope the way I phrased it didn't come off as being a certain claim, it was just my feeling of the "typical" person. I probably exclude people who use this site as typical readers, like you. Sorry if this wasn't clear. We also have the case the of "yeses and nos/noes", where many dictionaries recognise the plural of "no" as either "nos" or "noes". The "nos" spelling I imagine would look like what you have pointed out, ie., "noss".
    – Zebrafish
    7 hours ago






  • 2




    If I read "I had three gos on Bob's bike" I would never guess that it referred to "a go". Apart from the borrowed words which have brought their native plurals along with them, nouns that end in "o" take "es" to form the plural, so it's "goes" for sure.
    – CCTO
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    The "-os"/"-oes" endings aren't all that inconsistent. The default is to include the e, but words imported from Romance languages use "-os". The increasing use of "mosquitoes" is a study in the normalization of an imported Spanish word.
    – chrylis
    6 hours ago
















  • You can find 'goes' in the WordWeb Dictionary" wordwebonline.com/search.pl?w=go
    – Flonne Lightberry
    10 hours ago






  • 2




    "I have a feeling the typical reader probably wouldn't even be surprised by it or notice it particularly as wrong." This typical British reader would. "Gos" looks like it's a singular noun pronounced "Goss" to rhyme with "boss" or "moss" (with a British English "o" sound, not the American English vowel which is closer to a long "a" than a BrE "o").
    – alephzero
    9 hours ago






  • 1




    @alephzero Yes, you're right, I hope the way I phrased it didn't come off as being a certain claim, it was just my feeling of the "typical" person. I probably exclude people who use this site as typical readers, like you. Sorry if this wasn't clear. We also have the case the of "yeses and nos/noes", where many dictionaries recognise the plural of "no" as either "nos" or "noes". The "nos" spelling I imagine would look like what you have pointed out, ie., "noss".
    – Zebrafish
    7 hours ago






  • 2




    If I read "I had three gos on Bob's bike" I would never guess that it referred to "a go". Apart from the borrowed words which have brought their native plurals along with them, nouns that end in "o" take "es" to form the plural, so it's "goes" for sure.
    – CCTO
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    The "-os"/"-oes" endings aren't all that inconsistent. The default is to include the e, but words imported from Romance languages use "-os". The increasing use of "mosquitoes" is a study in the normalization of an imported Spanish word.
    – chrylis
    6 hours ago















You can find 'goes' in the WordWeb Dictionary" wordwebonline.com/search.pl?w=go
– Flonne Lightberry
10 hours ago




You can find 'goes' in the WordWeb Dictionary" wordwebonline.com/search.pl?w=go
– Flonne Lightberry
10 hours ago




2




2




"I have a feeling the typical reader probably wouldn't even be surprised by it or notice it particularly as wrong." This typical British reader would. "Gos" looks like it's a singular noun pronounced "Goss" to rhyme with "boss" or "moss" (with a British English "o" sound, not the American English vowel which is closer to a long "a" than a BrE "o").
– alephzero
9 hours ago




"I have a feeling the typical reader probably wouldn't even be surprised by it or notice it particularly as wrong." This typical British reader would. "Gos" looks like it's a singular noun pronounced "Goss" to rhyme with "boss" or "moss" (with a British English "o" sound, not the American English vowel which is closer to a long "a" than a BrE "o").
– alephzero
9 hours ago




1




1




@alephzero Yes, you're right, I hope the way I phrased it didn't come off as being a certain claim, it was just my feeling of the "typical" person. I probably exclude people who use this site as typical readers, like you. Sorry if this wasn't clear. We also have the case the of "yeses and nos/noes", where many dictionaries recognise the plural of "no" as either "nos" or "noes". The "nos" spelling I imagine would look like what you have pointed out, ie., "noss".
– Zebrafish
7 hours ago




@alephzero Yes, you're right, I hope the way I phrased it didn't come off as being a certain claim, it was just my feeling of the "typical" person. I probably exclude people who use this site as typical readers, like you. Sorry if this wasn't clear. We also have the case the of "yeses and nos/noes", where many dictionaries recognise the plural of "no" as either "nos" or "noes". The "nos" spelling I imagine would look like what you have pointed out, ie., "noss".
– Zebrafish
7 hours ago




2




2




If I read "I had three gos on Bob's bike" I would never guess that it referred to "a go". Apart from the borrowed words which have brought their native plurals along with them, nouns that end in "o" take "es" to form the plural, so it's "goes" for sure.
– CCTO
6 hours ago




If I read "I had three gos on Bob's bike" I would never guess that it referred to "a go". Apart from the borrowed words which have brought their native plurals along with them, nouns that end in "o" take "es" to form the plural, so it's "goes" for sure.
– CCTO
6 hours ago




1




1




The "-os"/"-oes" endings aren't all that inconsistent. The default is to include the e, but words imported from Romance languages use "-os". The increasing use of "mosquitoes" is a study in the normalization of an imported Spanish word.
– chrylis
6 hours ago




The "-os"/"-oes" endings aren't all that inconsistent. The default is to include the e, but words imported from Romance languages use "-os". The increasing use of "mosquitoes" is a study in the normalization of an imported Spanish word.
– chrylis
6 hours ago












up vote
5
down vote













There is an alternate construction which expresses plurality using a singular conjugation, which may be of interest. Tho slightly odd, it has a history of use, and is readily understood:




"many a go"




As in:




We've had many a go at this.



I'll have many a go.







share|improve this answer




















  • Technically, verbs are conjugated, nouns are inflected.
    – Acccumulation
    5 hours ago














up vote
5
down vote













There is an alternate construction which expresses plurality using a singular conjugation, which may be of interest. Tho slightly odd, it has a history of use, and is readily understood:




"many a go"




As in:




We've had many a go at this.



I'll have many a go.







share|improve this answer




















  • Technically, verbs are conjugated, nouns are inflected.
    – Acccumulation
    5 hours ago












up vote
5
down vote










up vote
5
down vote









There is an alternate construction which expresses plurality using a singular conjugation, which may be of interest. Tho slightly odd, it has a history of use, and is readily understood:




"many a go"




As in:




We've had many a go at this.



I'll have many a go.







share|improve this answer












There is an alternate construction which expresses plurality using a singular conjugation, which may be of interest. Tho slightly odd, it has a history of use, and is readily understood:




"many a go"




As in:




We've had many a go at this.



I'll have many a go.








share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 7 hours ago









VizJS

974




974











  • Technically, verbs are conjugated, nouns are inflected.
    – Acccumulation
    5 hours ago
















  • Technically, verbs are conjugated, nouns are inflected.
    – Acccumulation
    5 hours ago















Technically, verbs are conjugated, nouns are inflected.
– Acccumulation
5 hours ago




Technically, verbs are conjugated, nouns are inflected.
– Acccumulation
5 hours ago










up vote
-1
down vote













In most usage I have heard, I would consider the phrase "a go at it" to be non-count. In other words, it does not specify the number of tries and thus neither singular nor plural.



Though, VizJS answer does seem to be a logical plural.






share|improve this answer








New contributor




ravery is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

















  • A "go" is singular and specifies a single attempt. I can't see how it's non-count if I can have "several goes" - which I should note is a common if informal expression in my experience (Aust. Eng.).
    – Chappo
    1 min ago














up vote
-1
down vote













In most usage I have heard, I would consider the phrase "a go at it" to be non-count. In other words, it does not specify the number of tries and thus neither singular nor plural.



Though, VizJS answer does seem to be a logical plural.






share|improve this answer








New contributor




ravery is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

















  • A "go" is singular and specifies a single attempt. I can't see how it's non-count if I can have "several goes" - which I should note is a common if informal expression in my experience (Aust. Eng.).
    – Chappo
    1 min ago












up vote
-1
down vote










up vote
-1
down vote









In most usage I have heard, I would consider the phrase "a go at it" to be non-count. In other words, it does not specify the number of tries and thus neither singular nor plural.



Though, VizJS answer does seem to be a logical plural.






share|improve this answer








New contributor




ravery is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









In most usage I have heard, I would consider the phrase "a go at it" to be non-count. In other words, it does not specify the number of tries and thus neither singular nor plural.



Though, VizJS answer does seem to be a logical plural.







share|improve this answer








New contributor




ravery is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer






New contributor




ravery is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









answered 2 hours ago









ravery

992




992




New contributor




ravery is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





ravery is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






ravery is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











  • A "go" is singular and specifies a single attempt. I can't see how it's non-count if I can have "several goes" - which I should note is a common if informal expression in my experience (Aust. Eng.).
    – Chappo
    1 min ago
















  • A "go" is singular and specifies a single attempt. I can't see how it's non-count if I can have "several goes" - which I should note is a common if informal expression in my experience (Aust. Eng.).
    – Chappo
    1 min ago















A "go" is singular and specifies a single attempt. I can't see how it's non-count if I can have "several goes" - which I should note is a common if informal expression in my experience (Aust. Eng.).
– Chappo
1 min ago




A "go" is singular and specifies a single attempt. I can't see how it's non-count if I can have "several goes" - which I should note is a common if informal expression in my experience (Aust. Eng.).
– Chappo
1 min ago










up vote
-2
down vote













Not what the OP intended...



The noun go (a Japanese board game) has the English plural gos. Perhaps one could even say "I had a go" with this meaning.






share|improve this answer
















  • 3




    No, you can't say 'gos' for Go which means a Japanese board game. It's a mass noun (uncountable): en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go (example: ‘The game that does seem to me to be superior to chess, in that it has both depth and simplicity, is the Japanese game of Go.’)
    – Flonne Lightberry
    10 hours ago






  • 7




    So the plural of chess is chesses, right? "I had a chess"? I don't think so...
    – TonyK
    8 hours ago







  • 6




    I had a chess set. I played many chess games. I had a go set. I played many go games. I had many goes at go. I had many goes at chess.
    – DoverAudio
    7 hours ago






  • 1




    I've never had a chess at go though, in my entire checkered past.
    – Monty Harder
    4 hours ago






  • 1




    @MontyHarder Get a Clue, you don't have a Monopoly on Go.
    – Barmar
    2 hours ago














up vote
-2
down vote













Not what the OP intended...



The noun go (a Japanese board game) has the English plural gos. Perhaps one could even say "I had a go" with this meaning.






share|improve this answer
















  • 3




    No, you can't say 'gos' for Go which means a Japanese board game. It's a mass noun (uncountable): en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go (example: ‘The game that does seem to me to be superior to chess, in that it has both depth and simplicity, is the Japanese game of Go.’)
    – Flonne Lightberry
    10 hours ago






  • 7




    So the plural of chess is chesses, right? "I had a chess"? I don't think so...
    – TonyK
    8 hours ago







  • 6




    I had a chess set. I played many chess games. I had a go set. I played many go games. I had many goes at go. I had many goes at chess.
    – DoverAudio
    7 hours ago






  • 1




    I've never had a chess at go though, in my entire checkered past.
    – Monty Harder
    4 hours ago






  • 1




    @MontyHarder Get a Clue, you don't have a Monopoly on Go.
    – Barmar
    2 hours ago












up vote
-2
down vote










up vote
-2
down vote









Not what the OP intended...



The noun go (a Japanese board game) has the English plural gos. Perhaps one could even say "I had a go" with this meaning.






share|improve this answer












Not what the OP intended...



The noun go (a Japanese board game) has the English plural gos. Perhaps one could even say "I had a go" with this meaning.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 10 hours ago









GEdgar

13k22043




13k22043







  • 3




    No, you can't say 'gos' for Go which means a Japanese board game. It's a mass noun (uncountable): en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go (example: ‘The game that does seem to me to be superior to chess, in that it has both depth and simplicity, is the Japanese game of Go.’)
    – Flonne Lightberry
    10 hours ago






  • 7




    So the plural of chess is chesses, right? "I had a chess"? I don't think so...
    – TonyK
    8 hours ago







  • 6




    I had a chess set. I played many chess games. I had a go set. I played many go games. I had many goes at go. I had many goes at chess.
    – DoverAudio
    7 hours ago






  • 1




    I've never had a chess at go though, in my entire checkered past.
    – Monty Harder
    4 hours ago






  • 1




    @MontyHarder Get a Clue, you don't have a Monopoly on Go.
    – Barmar
    2 hours ago












  • 3




    No, you can't say 'gos' for Go which means a Japanese board game. It's a mass noun (uncountable): en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go (example: ‘The game that does seem to me to be superior to chess, in that it has both depth and simplicity, is the Japanese game of Go.’)
    – Flonne Lightberry
    10 hours ago






  • 7




    So the plural of chess is chesses, right? "I had a chess"? I don't think so...
    – TonyK
    8 hours ago







  • 6




    I had a chess set. I played many chess games. I had a go set. I played many go games. I had many goes at go. I had many goes at chess.
    – DoverAudio
    7 hours ago






  • 1




    I've never had a chess at go though, in my entire checkered past.
    – Monty Harder
    4 hours ago






  • 1




    @MontyHarder Get a Clue, you don't have a Monopoly on Go.
    – Barmar
    2 hours ago







3




3




No, you can't say 'gos' for Go which means a Japanese board game. It's a mass noun (uncountable): en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go (example: ‘The game that does seem to me to be superior to chess, in that it has both depth and simplicity, is the Japanese game of Go.’)
– Flonne Lightberry
10 hours ago




No, you can't say 'gos' for Go which means a Japanese board game. It's a mass noun (uncountable): en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/go (example: ‘The game that does seem to me to be superior to chess, in that it has both depth and simplicity, is the Japanese game of Go.’)
– Flonne Lightberry
10 hours ago




7




7




So the plural of chess is chesses, right? "I had a chess"? I don't think so...
– TonyK
8 hours ago





So the plural of chess is chesses, right? "I had a chess"? I don't think so...
– TonyK
8 hours ago





6




6




I had a chess set. I played many chess games. I had a go set. I played many go games. I had many goes at go. I had many goes at chess.
– DoverAudio
7 hours ago




I had a chess set. I played many chess games. I had a go set. I played many go games. I had many goes at go. I had many goes at chess.
– DoverAudio
7 hours ago




1




1




I've never had a chess at go though, in my entire checkered past.
– Monty Harder
4 hours ago




I've never had a chess at go though, in my entire checkered past.
– Monty Harder
4 hours ago




1




1




@MontyHarder Get a Clue, you don't have a Monopoly on Go.
– Barmar
2 hours ago




@MontyHarder Get a Clue, you don't have a Monopoly on Go.
– Barmar
2 hours ago

















 

draft saved


draft discarded















































 


draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f471915%2fwhat-is-the-plural-of-the-noun-go-as-in-have-a-go%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest













































































Popular posts from this blog

How to check contact read email or not when send email to Individual?

Displaying single band from multi-band raster using QGIS

How many registers does an x86_64 CPU actually have?