Template:Plural

{{{1}}} {{{2}}}s

Template documentation

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[Edit template data]
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