Analysis of Plural form in a text

SECRET GARDEN

Stunning sites are turning up left and right along Taiwan’s east cost, causing some divers to wonder how such a gem could be kept a secret for so long.

The water was cold and the encrusting algae that cast a purplish hue over the reef seemed alien. In the distance I saw the faint silhouette of Connie Chen waving madly. Fining closer, I saw a pair of large orchid-like lumps dancing near a strange half-eaten starfish. Harlequin shrimps! I turned to Connie and muttered under my noisy exhaust. “We’re not in Kansas any more”.

TREASURE UNEARTHED

When Silk Air begins its flights to Kaohsiung in 2007, I had the opportunity to explore several of Taiwan’s seldom-reported dive destinations. Those sites closest to Taipei are concentrated around its northeast shores. Local divers rent their tanks from the only two dive operators at Longdong Bay. There are many known sites frequented by the diving community; but to the more adventurous divers, the entire stretch of shoreline by the costal highway promises numerous new exciting reefs, all waiting to be discovered.

            The rest in front of He Mei primary school remained relative unknown until my dive buddy. Connie, began finding rare critters on a regular basis. Consider it Taiwan’s answer to Lembeh Strait, with appearances from highly priced weedy Rhinopias and mimic octopus.

            Entry into the water is from a rock structure that acts as breakwater to protect the facilities for abalone culture. I asked that my equipment and cameras be brought to the water to avoid falling on the on the slippery rocks. Connie put me to shame as, fully suited, she walked from the car park carrying her own camera without a fuss.

            The purplish algae on the temperate reef had a bizarre effect on my tropically accustomed eyes: It masked the presence of its inhabitants. Without Connie I would never have been able to spot the many critters hiding within the reef. There were several nudibranchs, many of which I’d never seen. New to me was a pair of black velvety nudibranchs, about the size of a thumbnail, with gaudy orange spots.

            While I was looking at a resting flathead under a piece of rock, a flying gurnard swam by, spooking both fish which sped off in opposite direction. We’d planned to swim across a patch of coral reef to reach a muck bottom, but we never got there due to discovery of several pairs of harlequin shrimp. I’ve seen harlequin shrimp (in Manado and Lembeh) but never so many in a single dive. Connie later told me offhand that harlequins are common here, and that she’d seen a shrimp molt that very morning.

            One day later two instructors from Longdong Bay’s lone operator, Diving Hotel, showed me a reef of the coastal highway at “kilometer marker 115”. On this dive I was honored to have as my dive buddy the famous movie actress Jacklyn Wu Qian Lian. (The Taiwanese diving community is well spread and reaches to people quite high in society.)

            Access to the beach was from a tiny stairway at the side of an old shop house. Within minutes I knew we’d uncovered another gem. An avid underwater photographer, Jacklyn brought my attention to several cone shells, cowries, blennies, boxer crabs, an yet another harlequin shrimp. We also found an unknown nudibranch that camouflaged it self within the branches of its red sea fan host. The surge was too difficult to contend with, and it was near impossible to take a good look at the nudibranch much less get a good shot of it.

            Beside the coastal highway near the 117.5 km marker is a new site discovered by veteran diver Mr. Kuan. When I learned we would have to climb down another steep, narrow mud path through dense vegetation to get to the rocky beach beyond, I nearly aborted the dive. But long time friend and well known photographer Jolly Huang understood my plight, and had already arranged to have my equipment transported down. Good thing she did.

Most impressive was that Jolly made the long trek down without any help at all. It seems the women in Taiwan need no chivalry! Upon reaching the bottom we encountered our guide, Mr. Kuan. Knowing that we were photographers, he made us promise not to take any images of the rare sea fans on the deep wall at the site, in the hope that commercial collectors wouldn’t learn about their existence.

            Unfortunately, within minutes of entering the water we lost Mr. Kuan. Visibility was awful and a strong current keep pushing us back. As agreed upon earlier, Jolly and I began our preparations to surface to find Mr. Kuan; but while ascending, we were distracted by a pair of harlequin shrimp prowling the shallow wall.

            The Jolly began to find several frogfish and juvenile rock scorpionfish- all remained motionless above a pile of rocks, and were only visible once we neared with our cameras at the ready. Within the rocks and under the scorpionfish sat a tiny eight-centimetre-long juvenile Spanish dancer nudibranch, which proved to be a true senorita, even when disturbed from her beauty nap.

Morphological

Plural inflectional form by Marcella Frank

1. Divers              : This word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. (diver - divers)
2. Lumps              : This word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. (Lump – Lumps)
3. Shrimps            : This word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form.( Shrimp – Shrimps)
4. Shores              :  This word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. (Shore – Shores)
5. Tanks               : This word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. (Tank – Tanks)
6. Reefs (3)          : In one syllable words, final f and fe become ves. However,some such words take the regular s ending. ( reef – reefs )
7. Critters             : This word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. (Critter – Critters )
8. Facilities (2)      : In this word after y preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to i and es is added. ( facility – facilities )
9. Cameras           : This word is using the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. ( Camera – cameras )
10. Rocks              : This word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. ( Rock – Rocks )
11. Eyes (11)         : This words ending in s are used chiefly as plurals. Eyes are word that have to parts.
12. Spots               : This word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. ( Spot – spots )
13. Harlequins        : This word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. ( Harlequin – Harlequins )
14. Instructors        : This word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. (Instructor – Instructors )
15. Shells               : This word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. ( Shell – Shells )
16. Cowries (2)      : In this word after y preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to i and es is added. ( Cowry – Cowries )
17. Blenies (2)       : In this word after y preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to i and es is added. ( Blenny – blennies )
18. Crabs               : this word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. ( Crab – Crabs )
19. Branches (1)     : This word after a sibilant sound spelled ch, es is added ( Branch – branches)
20. Woman (5)       : This words is irregular plurals based on older English my take the form of internal change ( woman – women )
21. Photographers  : this word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. ( Photographer – Photographers)
22. Images             : This word use the general rule to form the plural nouns is to add s to the singular form. (image- images)

Syntactical

v     Some divers           : This phrase belongs to the category of quantifier. Quantifier “some” is generally used with a plural noun (divers) and preceded noun.

v     Two Instructors          : This phrase belongs to category of cardinal number. Cardinal number are also known as “counting number”. Cardinal number explain amount the instructor.

v     The Many critters  : Many express a large quantity. The quantifier “many” preceded the countable have modify to be uncountable.

v     Several pairs           : Several can be used in the following way as determiner (followed by a plural noun) the pairs being more than two but not many.

v     Several cone cells   : several followed by cone shells (plural noun). This explaine that the cone shells more that two. This belong to the category a quantifier

v     Any images              : Any is determiner used to indicate a thing that is not particular or specifics. In this phrase mount of image not specifics.