Template:Plural/doc

This template allows easy formatting of statements of the form "# thing(s)", with correct use of plurals. It uses the "plural" magic word, so ideally it should work with minimal modification for other language.

Usage

With a space between the number and name (using numeric character reference  ):

• {{plural|number|name}}
• {{plural|number|singular name|plural name}}

With a non-breaking space between the number and name (using character entity reference  ):

• {{plural|number|name|nb=yes}}
• {{plural|number|singular name|plural name|nb=yes}}

Examples

For most English nouns, the plural is formed by adding "s" to the end of the singular form. If that is the case, only one "name" parameter is required:

• {{plural|0|page}} returns "0 pages"
• {{plural|1|page}} returns "1 page"
• {{plural|2|page}} returns "2 pages"
• {{plural|-1|page}} returns "-1 page"
• {{plural|-2|page}} returns "-2 pages"
• {{plural|0.5|page}} returns "0.5 pages"
• {{plural|1.5|page}} returns "1.5 pages"
• {{plural|-0.5|page}} returns "-0.5 pages"
• {{plural|-1.5|page}} returns "-1.5 pages"

For plurals that require adding "es", or more unusual forms, the singular and plural forms must be specified explicitly:

• {{plural|0|ox|oxen}} returns "0 oxen"
• {{plural|1|ox|oxen}} returns "1 ox"
• {{plural|2|ox|oxen}} returns "2 oxen"
• {{plural|-1|ox|oxen}} returns "-1 ox"
• {{plural|-2|ox|oxen}} returns "-2 oxen"
• {{plural|0.5|ox|oxen}} returns "0.5 oxen"
• {{plural|1.5|ox|oxen}} returns "1.5 oxen"
• {{plural|-0.5|ox|oxen}} returns "-0.5 oxen"
• {{plural|-1.5|ox|oxen}} returns "-1.5 oxen"

With parameter |nb=:

• <div style="width:5em">{{plural|2|sesquipedalian|nb=yes}}</div> returns:
  2 sesquipedalians
• <div style="width:5em">{{plural|2|sesquipedalian|nb=no}}</div> returns:
  2 sesquipedalians

Notes

• While {{plural|#|sheep|sheep}} is valid, it is also fairly pointless.
• The template does not handle missing parameters 1 or 2: {{plural}} returns "{{{1}}} {{{2}}}s"
• The template does not handle empty parameters 1 or 2: {{plural||}} returns " s"
• The template does not remove leading or trailing spaces in parameters 1 or 2: {{plural | 2 | page }} returns " 2 page s"

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData documentation for this template used by VisualEditor and other tools.

Plural

Allows easy formatting of statements using plural.

Template parameters

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Number	1	The number of items: 0, 1, 2 etc.	Number	required
Singular name	2	The text to use when one item is specified	String	required
plural name	3	The text to use when two or more items are specified. The default is to append the singular form with 's'.	String	optional