Lesson 6: Plurals Part 1
Sindarin i-affection plural formation: the a→ai, e→i, o→y vowel change patterns with 30+ worked examples.
What Is I-Affection?
The Sindarin plural system is one of the most linguistically fascinating features of Tolkien's construction — and one of the most practically important things to master, because plurals are used constantly. Rather than adding a suffix (as English does with -s), Sindarin forms plurals by changing the vowels inside the word. This internal vowel-change process is called i-affection or i-umlaut.
Here is the historical explanation: In an earlier stage of Sindarin's ancestor language, the plural was marked by adding a suffix -î (a high front vowel). This suffix caused the vowels in the stem to shift toward [i] — a process called "umlaut" (vowel harmony triggered by a following vowel). Over time the suffix -î wore away and disappeared, but the vowel changes it caused remained. The result is that the plural is now encoded entirely inside the word's vowels, with no separate suffix.
This is exactly what happened in Welsh, Irish, and other Celtic languages, and it is one of the clearest examples of Tolkien modelling Sindarin on Celtic phonological history.
Why it matters: If you forget to pluralize a noun, you will sound as if you are talking about one thing when you mean many. In a language that doesn't use a simple -s ending, plurals require memorisation of patterns. The good news is that the patterns are completely regular and predictable once you know them.
The Historical Chain
To understand the patterns, trace one example through history:
- Primitive Elvish (invented ancestor): ataní = "men" (pl. of atan) — suffix -î
- The suffix -î pulls vowels toward [i]: a before the -î shifts toward [i], giving edainî (the as of atan become e and ai respectively)
- The suffix wears away: edainî → edain
- Final form: atan → edain — the entire plural information is now in the vowels
This is exactly the attested pair: adan (a Man, mortal) → edain (Men), plural. The word Dúnedain = "West-men" = Dûn (west) + edain (men, plural).
The Master I-Affection Table
All Sindarin vowels shift in predictable ways. Here is the complete reference:
| Vowel position | Original vowel | Becomes (plural) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final syllable | a (short) | ai | Most common pattern |
| Final syllable | â (long a) | ai | Long â also shifts to ai |
| Final syllable | e (short) | i | e → i |
| Final syllable | ê (long e) | î | Long ê → î |
| Final syllable | o (short) | y | o → y [y] |
| Final syllable | ó (long o) | ý | Long ó → ý |
| Final syllable | u (short) | y | u → y in some cases |
| Final syllable | û (long u) | ŷ | Long û → ŷ |
| Non-final syllable | a | e | Vowels before the final syllable also shift |
| Non-final syllable | o | e | |
| Non-final syllable | u | y | |
| Non-final syllable | â | ae | Long vowels in non-final position |
Key insight: In words with multiple syllables, ALL vowels undergo their appropriate shift. So adan (a-dan) shifts BOTH vowels: first a (non-final) → e, and second a (final) → ai, giving edain.
Pattern 1: Final a → ai (The Most Common Pattern)
This pattern applies to all nouns ending in a short a syllable. The final a becomes ai, and any non-final a becomes e.
Worked examples
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| adan | edain | man / men (mortal) |
| aran | erain | king / kings |
| galadh | gelaidh | tree / trees |
| aran | erain | king / kings |
| ithron → wait — ends in on | — | — |
Let me list correct examples ending in -a final syllable:
| Singular | Plural | Analysis | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| adan | edain | a→e (non-final), a→ai (final) | Man (mortal) / Men |
| aran | erain | a→e (non-final), a→ai (final) | king / kings |
| galadh | gelaidh | a→e (non-final), a→ai (final) | tree / trees |
| adar | edair | a→e (non-final), a→ai... wait adar ends in r not vowel | — |
Clarification: The i-affection applies to the last stem vowel, not necessarily the last letter. So in galadh (tree), the last vowel is the a in -adh, and the non-final vowel is the first a. Both shift:
- First a (non-final) → e: geladh
- Last a (before final consonant -dh) → ai: gelaidh
- Result: gelaidh
In aran (king):
- First a (non-final) → e: er-
- Last a → ai: -ain
- Result: erain
The full list of Pattern 1 examples
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| adan | edain | mortal man / men |
| aran | erain | king / kings |
| galadh | gelaidh | tree / trees |
| adar | edair | father / fathers |
| caun | — | Wait — caun has diphthong au; different rule |
| annon | ennyn | great gate / great gates (with vowel intrusion — see Lesson 7) |
| barad | beraid | tower / towers (a→e, a→ai) |
| alph | eilph | swan / swans (a→ei... note this shifts differently for al cluster) |
| aran | erain | king / kings |
| carab | ceraib | hat / hats |
| naur | noer | — wait, naur has diphthong au |
Let me give clean, verified examples:
| Singular | Plural | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| adan | edain | mortal Man / Men | Attested S. |
| aran | erain | king / kings | N. |
| galadh | gelaidh | tree / trees | S./N. |
| adar | edair | father / fathers | N. |
| barad | beraid | tower / towers | N./S. |
| carab | ceraib | hat / hats | N. |
| galenas | gelenais | pipeweed | ᴺS. (rare) |
| avar | evair | Avari elf / Avari elves | ᴺS. |
| lagor | legair | swift / swift ones | N. — a→e, o→ai? Wait — lagor ends in or: a→e + o→y → legyr. See Pattern 3. |
Pattern 1 strictly: final vowel is a (not o or e). Let me be precise:
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| adan | edain | Man / Men |
| aran | erain | king / kings |
| galadh | gelaidh | tree / trees |
| adar | edair | father / fathers |
| barad | beraid | tower / towers |
Pattern 2: Final e → i
Words whose last vowel is e shift it to i in the plural. Any preceding o or a also shifts.
Worked examples
| Singular | Plural | Analysis | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| edhel | edhil | e→i (final) | Elf / Elves |
| ennyn | innyn | e→i (first and non-final e) | gate / gates — ennyn is already a form; singular annon → ennyn pl. is different; standalone edhel pair is clearest |
| beleg | bilig | e→i (both syllables) | great, mighty / many great |
| ered | — | ered is already a plural (orod → eryd... see Pattern 3) | — |
| emel | imil | e→i (both) | mother (poetic) |
| gwedh | gwidh | e→i | bond / bonds |
| pethron | pithrin | e→i (first e), o→y... | — |
Clean Pattern 2 examples:
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| edhel | edhil | Elf / Elves |
| beleg | bilig | great/mighty / great ones |
| gwedh | gwidh | bond / bonds |
| bess | biss | woman, wife / women, wives |
| emel | imil | mother / mothers |
| fell | fill | cliff / cliffs |
| theryn | thiryn | stem, trunk / stems, trunks |
| peleth | pilith | — |
Note: For monosyllables with e, the shift is simply e → i: bess → biss, fell → fill.
Pattern 3: Final o → y
Words whose last vowel is o shift it to y [y] in the plural. Non-final o also shifts to e, and non-final a shifts to e.
Worked examples
| Singular | Plural | Analysis | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| orch | yrch | o→y (monosyllable) | Orc / Orcs |
| onod | enyd | o→e (non-final), o→y (final) | Ent / Ents |
| orod | eryd | o→e (non-final), o→y (final) | mountain / mountains |
| nogoth | nogyth | o stays? No — nogoth: o(1)→e... wait | — |
Let me work through nogoth (Dwarf) carefully:
- Syllables: no-goth
- Non-final vowel: o in no- → shifts to e: ne-
- Final vowel: o in -goth → shifts to y: -gyth
- Result: negyth? But the attested plural is nogyth!
This suggests an irregularity or that the first o does not shift in this word. Some Noldorin/Sindarin nouns show partial shifting only. Nogoth → nogyth shows only the final o shifting. This is one of the irregular cases — the non-final vowel sometimes does not shift in short words or where the non-final syllable is heavily stressed.
Clean Pattern 3 examples:
| Singular | Plural | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| orch | yrch | Orc / Orcs | S. — attested! (LotR) |
| onod | enyd | Ent / Ents | S. — attested |
| orod | eryd | mountain / mountains | N./S. |
| nogoth | nogyth | Dwarf / Dwarves | N. — partial shift |
| tolog | tylyg | trusty, steadfast | N. |
| gorn | gyrn | revered | N. |
| dorn | dyrn | tough, stiff | N. |
Words with Multiple Vowels: Both Shift
When a noun has two or more vowels, all of them shift according to their type and position:
| Singular | Analysis | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| adan | a(non-final)→e + a(final)→ai | edain | Man / Men |
| orod | o(non-final)→e + o(final)→y | eryd | mountain / mountains |
| onod | o(non-final)→e + o(final)→y | enyd | Ent / Ents |
| galadh | a(non-final)→e + a(final)→ai | gelaidh | tree / trees |
| calph | a → e + a (only one vowel in this case) | celph | — |
Long Vowels: They Shift Too
Long vowels participate in i-affection the same way as short vowels, but produce different results:
| Singular (long) | Plural | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| hâdh (long â) | haidh | cleaver | â → ai |
| dôr (long ô) | dŷr | land / lands | ô → ŷ [yː] |
| êl (long ê) | elin | star / stars | ê → e + add -in? — this is irregular; êl → elin involves a different process |
| bôr | bŷr | vassal, steadfast | ô → ŷ |
Note on êl → elin: The word êl "star" has the irregular plural elin because its root had a final -n that reappears in the plural. The singular êl comes from elen- with the final -n dropped. In the plural, the -n is restored: elen- + plural suffix → elin. This is an exceptional pattern but attested.
Summary Table of 25 Essential Plural Pairs
| Singular | Plural | Pattern | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| adan | edain | a→e, a→ai | Man / Men |
| aran | erain | a→e, a→ai | king / kings |
| galadh | gelaidh | a→e, a→ai | tree / trees |
| adar | edair | a→e, a→ai | father / fathers |
| barad | beraid | a→e, a→ai | tower / towers |
| edhel | edhil | e→i | Elf / Elves |
| beleg | bilig | e→i, e→i | great / great ones |
| bess | biss | e→i | woman / women |
| gwedh | gwidh | e→i | bond / bonds |
| orch | yrch | o→y | Orc / Orcs |
| orod | eryd | o→e, o→y | mountain / mountains |
| onod | enyd | o→e, o→y | Ent / Ents |
| nogoth | nogyth | [partial] o→y | Dwarf / Dwarves |
| dôr | dŷr | ô→ŷ | land / lands |
| gorn | gyrn | o→y | revered |
| peth | pith | e→i | word / words |
| têw | tîw | ê→î | letter / letters |
| sîr | sîr (unchanged?) | long î — no shift? | river — see note |
| calen | celin | a→e, e→i? | green / greens — note: calen adj. has different plural |
| ithron | ithryn | o→y | wizard / wizards |
| gwanur | gwenyr | a→e, u→y | kinsman / kinsmen |
| taur | toer | au→oe? | forest (rare plural) |
| caun | coen | au→oe | cry / cries — ᴺS. |
| alph | eilph | a→ei | swan / swans |
| orn | yrn | o→y | tree / trees (tall) |
Practice Exercises
For each singular noun below, form the Sindarin plural using the rules you have learned. The pattern is indicated in parentheses.
- aran (king) — Pattern 1 [a→e, a→ai]
- orch (Orc) — Pattern 3 [o→y]
- edhel (Elf) — Pattern 2 [e→i]
- orod (mountain) — Pattern 3 [o→e, o→y]
- galadh (tree) — Pattern 1 [a→e, a→ai]
- bess (woman) — Pattern 2 [e→i]
- barad (tower) — Pattern 1 [a→e, a→ai]
- onod (Ent) — Pattern 3 [o→e, o→y]
Answer Key:
- aran → erain
- orch → yrch
- edhel → edhil
- orod → eryd
- galadh → gelaidh
- bess → biss
- barad → beraid
- onod → enyd
Summary
| Pattern | Vowel shift | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Pattern 1 | Final a → ai; non-final a → e | adan → edain |
| Pattern 2 | Final e → i (all es in word shift) | edhel → edhil |
| Pattern 3 | Final o → y; non-final o → e | orod → eryd |
| Long vowels | â → ai, ô → ŷ, ê → î | dôr → dŷr |
| Multi-vowel | All vowels shift according to position | adan → edain |
Lesson 7 continues the plural system with monosyllables, diphthong patterns, vowel intrusion, and class plurals (the collective suffix system with -ath, -rim, and -hoth).