Editing English plurals (section)

====French compounds====
Many English compounds have been [[loanword|borrowed]] directly from [[French language|French]], and these generally follow a somewhat different set of rules. In French loaned compounds with a noun as head and a qualifying adjective, it is correct to pluralize both words, in common with French practice. Usually in French, the noun precedes the adjective:
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|agent provocateur||agents provocateurs
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|entente cordiale||ententes cordiales
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|fait accompli||faits accomplis
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|idée fixe||idées fixes
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In some expressions, the adjective precedes the noun, in which case it is still correct to pluralize both words, in common with French practice, although in the English form sometimes only the noun is pluralized:<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cjr.org/language_corner/plural_problems.php|title=Plural problems|work=Columbia Journalism Review|access-date=2018-01-31}}</ref>
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|beau geste||beaux gestes / beau gestes
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|belle époque||belles époques / belle époques
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|bon mot||bons mots / bon mots
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|bon vivant||bons vivants / bon vivants
}}}}
However, if the adjectives ''beau'' "beautiful/handsome", ''nouveau'' "new", or ''vieux'' "old" precede a singular noun beginning with a vowel or a mute ''h'' (such as ''homme''), they are changed to ''bel'' (as in the example below), ''nouvel'', or ''vieil'' (to facilitate pronunciation in French). In these cases, both the noun and the adjective are pluralized in the English form as in French:
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|bel homme||beaux hommes
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In other French compound expressions, only the head noun is pluralized:
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|aide-de-camp||aides-de-camp
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|coup d'état||coups d'état
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|cri du cœur / cri du coeur||cris du cœur / cris du coeur
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|cul-de-sac||culs-de-sac
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|fleur-de-lis||fleurs-de-lis
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|tour de force||tours de force
}}}}
''but'':
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|tête-à-tête||tête-à-têtes||(In French the plural form is the same as the singular form.)
}}}}