The plural of analysis is analyses. The singular analysis refers to one examination or interpretation, while analyses refers to two or more examinations or interpretations. Analysis is pronounced “uh-NAL-uh-sis” (/əˈnæləsɪs/), and analyses is pronounced “uh-NAL-uh-seez” (/əˈnæləsiːz/).
Key Facts
Singular: one analysis
Plural: two or more analyses
Spelling: analyses, not analysises
Plural pronunciation: “uh-NAL-uh-seez”
Singular possessive: analysis’s or, in some styles, analysis’
Plural possessive: analyses’
What Is the Plural of Analysis?
The correct plural form is analyses, with an ending spelled -es and pronounced “eez.” For example, “The report contains three analyses of the survey results” is grammatically correct.
The word analysis entered English through Latin from Greek analysis, meaning a breaking up or loosening. English retains the Greek-derived plural pattern in several formal nouns ending in -is. The change is not made by adding -s to the full singular word, so analysises is incorrect in standard English.
| Meaning | Correct form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One examination | analysis | The analysis identifies one error. |
| More than one examination | analyses | The analyses identify four errors. |
| The process as a general field | analysis | Analysis requires reliable evidence. |
| Data methods as a discipline | analytics | The company uses predictive analytics. |
The plural can describe separate reports, methods, investigations, or interpretations. A research paper might contain a statistical analysis, a thematic analysis, and a sensitivity analysis. Together, those are three analyses.
How Do You Spell Analyses?
You spell the plural a-n-a-l-y-s-e-s: analyses. The singular keeps the final sequence -sis, but the plural changes that sequence to -ses.
A useful visual comparison is:
- analysis: a-n-a-l-y-s-i-s
- analyses: a-n-a-l-y-s-e-s
The most common spelling mistake is analysises, formed by attaching -es to the entire singular. That pattern works for words such as bus to buses, but it does not work for analysis. The plural ending replaces the singular ending.
| Incorrect spelling | Correct spelling | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| analysises | analyses | Replace -sis with -ses. |
| analysys | analysis | Use -ysis in the singular. |
| analysies | analyses | Keep the final -ses. |
| analysis’s | analyses | Remove the apostrophe when making a regular plural. |
| analysis’ | analyses | An apostrophe does not create the plural. |
Memory helps when it focuses on the ending rather than the whole word. Think of analysis changing to analyses, just as thesis changes to theses.
How Is Analyses Pronounced?
Analyses is pronounced uh-NAL-uh-seez, represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈnæləsiːz/. The final syllable sounds like “zeez,” not “sis.”
The singular analysis is commonly pronounced uh-NAL-uh-sis, or /əˈnæləsɪs/. Both forms carry primary stress on the second syllable, written NAL in the simplified pronunciation.
| Word | IPA | Approximate pronunciation | Syllables |
|---|---|---|---|
| analysis | /əˈnæləsɪs/ | uh-NAL-uh-sis | 4 |
| analyses | /əˈnæləsiːz/ | uh-NAL-uh-seez | 4 |
| analyst | /ˈænəlɪst/ | AN-uh-list | 3 |
| analytic | /ˌænəˈlɪtɪk/ | an-uh-LIT-ik | 4 |
| analytics | /ˌænəˈlɪtɪks/ | an-uh-LIT-iks | 4 |
Some speakers reduce the middle vowel, especially in rapid speech, but the final distinction remains important. Saying “two analysis” with the singular pronunciation can make the number unclear, even when the surrounding sentence provides context.
Why Does the Ending Change?
The ending changes because analysis is a Greek-derived noun whose traditional plural replaces -is with -es. English borrowed several nouns with this pattern, including thesis/theses, crisis/crises, and basis/bases.
The pattern is historical rather than a fully productive rule. A speaker cannot safely pluralize every English word ending in -is by changing it to -es, because some words follow different patterns or have become regularized in English.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| analysis | analyses | examinations or interpretations |
| basis | bases | foundations or underlying points |
| crisis | crises | serious unstable situations |
| diagnosis | diagnoses | identifications of illnesses or conditions |
| hypothesis | hypotheses | proposed explanations |
| parenthesis | parentheses | bracketed statements or marks |
| thesis | theses | extended academic arguments |
| synthesis | syntheses | combinations of ideas or components |
The Greek origin explains the spelling, but memorization remains necessary. English morphology preserves many historical forms even when everyday speakers no longer recognize their source language.
Is Analyses Singular or Plural?
Analyses is plural. Use analyses with plural determiners such as these, those, several, many, or a specific number greater than one.
Use a plural verb when analyses is the grammatical subject. For example, “The analyses are consistent” is correct, while “The analyses is consistent” is incorrect.
| Determiner | Correct example | Why |
|---|---|---|
| one | One analysis is complete. | One requires the singular. |
| an | An analysis was submitted. | An modifies one countable item. |
| two | Two analyses were submitted. | A number above one requires the plural. |
| several | Several analyses were compared. | Several is plural. |
| these | These analyses support the conclusion. | These is plural. |
| each | Each analysis addresses a separate question. | Each takes a singular noun. |
The noun remains countable when it identifies separate examinations. “The team completed five analyses” identifies five distinct pieces of work. “Analysis is important in science” uses the singular in a general, uncountable sense to name a discipline or activity.
What Is the Difference Between Analysis and Analyses?
The difference is number: analysis means one examination, and analyses means more than one. The words have the same core meaning, but their determiners, verbs, and modifiers must agree with their number.
Compare these sentences:
- “The analysis is based on 500 responses.”
- “The analyses are based on 500 responses.”
- “The researcher completed an analysis of the responses.”
- “The researchers completed several analyses of the responses.”
The first sentence identifies one interpretive procedure. The second may refer to separate statistical models, separate datasets, or separate research teams. The surrounding noun phrase determines whether the plural is necessary.
A phrase such as “a detailed analysis” cannot become “a detailed analyses.” Replace a with a plural determiner: “three detailed analyses” or “several detailed analyses.”
Can One Study Contain Multiple Analyses?
One study can contain multiple analyses when researchers apply different methods, variables, samples, or questions. A clinical study might include a primary analysis, a subgroup analysis, and a safety analysis.
The plural does not necessarily mean the study has several unrelated projects. It can describe several planned stages within one project. Researchers often distinguish:
- primary and secondary analyses;
- interim and final analyses;
- qualitative and quantitative analyses;
- subgroup and sensitivity analyses;
- exploratory and confirmatory analyses.
The distinction matters because each analysis may use different assumptions. Combining them under one singular label can hide differences in sample size, statistical method, or research purpose.
Is Analytics the Same as Analyses?
Analytics is not the plural of analysis. Analyses means multiple examinations, whereas analytics usually means methods, systems, or practices for examining data, especially in business, computing, marketing, and statistics.
| Term | Grammatical role | Typical meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| analysis | Singular count noun | One examination | The analysis found a pricing error. |
| analyses | Plural count noun | Multiple examinations | The analyses produced similar results. |
| analytics | Field or practice noun | Data-analysis methods and systems | Marketing analytics tracks conversions. |
| analyst | Singular person noun | One person who analyzes | The analyst reviewed the model. |
| analysts | Plural person noun | Multiple people who analyze | The analysts reviewed the models. |
| analytical | Adjective | Related to analysis | The report uses an analytical framework. |
“Three analytics” is not normally a replacement for “three analyses.” In some technical contexts, analytics can refer to products or platforms, but the intended meaning is different. Write “three analytics tools” for three software tools, and “three analyses” for three examinations of evidence.
How Is the Word Used in Formal Writing?
Formal writing uses analysis for one method or interpretation and analyses for multiple methods or interpretations. Academic, legal, medical, financial, and scientific writing all follow the same number distinction.
Examples include:
- “The legal analysis focuses on contractual intent.”
- “The legal analyses reach different conclusions.”
- “The laboratory performed two chemical analyses.”
- “The financial report includes quarterly analyses of revenue.”
- “The thematic analyses identified recurring interview patterns.”
- “The sensitivity analyses tested whether the result changed under different assumptions.”
Modifiers do not alter the plural form. “Detailed,” “independent,” “comparative,” and “preliminary” describe the noun, but the noun remains analyses: “four independent analyses.”
In academic prose, precision is especially important because analysis may refer either to a method or to a written section. A sentence stating that “the analysis includes three analyses” can be correct if the first term means the overall chapter or process and the second identifies its component examinations.
Which Verb Form Goes With Analyses?
The verb form depends on whether analyses is a noun or a verb. As a noun, analyses takes a plural verb: “The analyses show a pattern.” As a verb, analyses is the third-person singular present form of the British spelling analyse: “She analyses the data.”
American and British English differ in the verb spelling:
| Meaning | American English | British English |
|---|---|---|
| Base verb | analyze | analyse |
| Third-person singular | analyzes | analyses |
| Past tense | analyzed | analysed |
| Noun, singular | analysis | analysis |
| Noun, plural | analyses | analyses |
Context usually makes the role clear. “The analysts conduct analyses” contains a plural person noun and a plural examination noun. “She analyses the results” contains a singular subject and a verb. The British sentence “The team analyses the results” can look identical to the noun plural, but the subject and syntax reveal the difference.
Do not change the noun spelling according to regional preference. Both American and British English use analysis and analyses.
What Are the Possessive Forms?
The singular possessive is usually analysis’s, and the plural possessive is analyses’. The singular possessive means something belongs to one analysis; the plural possessive means something belongs to multiple analyses.
Examples:
- “The analysis’s conclusion was cautiously worded.”
- “The analyses’ conclusions were compared.”
- “The conclusion of the analysis was cautiously worded.”
- “The conclusions of the analyses were compared.”
Style guides differ on whether a singular noun ending in -s takes ’s or only an apostrophe. The Chicago Manual of Style generally supports analysis’s for the singular possessive, while some house styles prefer analysis’. Follow the publication’s stated style.
The plural possessive does not use ’s because the plural already ends in -s: analyses’, not analyses’s. In formal writing, the “of” construction often improves readability when several possessive phrases occur together.
What Errors Should You Avoid?
The most frequent errors are analysises, incorrect subject-verb agreement, and confusion between a plural noun and a possessive noun. Each error has a simple correction based on number and grammatical function.
| Error | Correct version | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| The report has two analysises. | The report has two analyses. | Use the irregular plural. |
| The analyses is complete. | The analysis is complete. | One analysis takes is. |
| The analysis are complete. | The analyses are complete. | Multiple analyses take are. |
| The analysis’s were useful. | The analyses were useful. | Do not use an apostrophe for a plural. |
| Three analytics were conducted. | Three analyses were conducted. | Analytics names a field or system. |
| The analysts completed an analyses. | The analysts completed an analysis. | The article an requires singular number. |
A Practitioner Rule for Editing
Find the number word first, then inspect the noun. If the sentence contains one, a, or an, use analysis. If it contains two, several, multiple, many, these, or those, use analyses.
A second check is the verb. Singular analysis usually pairs with is, was, or a singular verb. Plural analyses pairs with are, were, or a plural verb. This agreement test catches errors that visual proofreading misses.
A third check concerns apostrophes. Apostrophes usually mark possession, not ordinary pluralization. Write “several analyses,” but “the analyses’ results.”
How Do You Use Analyses in Different Fields?
The word analyses appears whenever professionals conduct more than one structured examination. The object changes by field, but the grammatical rule remains stable.
| Field | Typical analyses | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine | Blood, imaging, genetic, and diagnostic analyses | The laboratory completed four analyses. |
| Finance | Ratio, cash-flow, risk, and valuation analyses | The investment team compared three analyses. |
| Chemistry | Elemental, spectral, toxicological, and molecular analyses | The samples underwent separate analyses. |
| SEO | Crawl, backlink, content, and log-file analyses | The audit combines four analyses. |
| Literature | Narratological, historical, thematic, and stylistic analyses | The essay presents two analyses of the novel. |
| Data science | Regression, cluster, sensitivity, and cohort analyses | The model passed several analyses. |
The plural can refer to different outputs or repeated applications of the same method. “Three regression analyses” means the regression method was applied three times or in three configurations. “Three types of analysis” emphasizes methodological categories rather than completed investigations.
When Should You Use “Types of Analysis”?
Use types of analysis when discussing categories or methods, and use analyses when discussing completed examinations or separate results. The two phrases are related but not interchangeable.
Compare:
- “The study uses three types of analysis: descriptive, predictive, and causal.”
- “The study reports three analyses using different datasets.”
- “Qualitative and quantitative analysis require different evidence.”
- “The researchers performed separate qualitative and quantitative analyses.”
The first sentence classifies approaches. The second counts actual examinations. A report can discuss five types of analysis but contain only two completed analyses.
This distinction improves technical writing because categories, procedures, and outputs are not always the same thing. A method becomes an analysis when someone applies it to a defined body of evidence and reports the result.
What Words Pluralize Like Analysis?
Several formal nouns ending in -is form plurals ending in -es, although the exact spelling and pronunciation vary. The most useful related pairs are basis/bases, crisis/crises, diagnosis/diagnoses, hypothesis/hypotheses, and thesis/theses.
| Singular | Plural | Singular pronunciation ending | Plural pronunciation ending |
|---|---|---|---|
| basis | bases | “sis” | “seez” |
| crisis | crises | “sis” | “seez” |
| diagnosis | diagnoses | “sis” | “seez” |
| hypothesis | hypotheses | “sis” | “seez” |
| thesis | theses | “sis” | “seez” |
| synthesis | syntheses | “sis” | “seez” |
The pattern is strong but not universal. For example, axis commonly becomes axes, while process becomes processes, not a Greek-style form. Writers should verify unfamiliar plurals rather than applying one ending mechanically.
The shared pattern offers a practical memory aid: many scholarly and scientific nouns ending in -sis change to -ses in the plural. The pronunciation usually changes from a final “sis” sound to “seez.”
Can “Analysis” Be Used Without an Article?
Analysis can be used without an article when it names the general practice or discipline, but it usually takes an article or determiner when it identifies one countable examination. Context determines whether the noun is general or specific.
Examples of general use:
- “Analysis is central to historical research.”
- “Data analysis requires consistent definitions.”
- “Critical analysis improves the argument.”
Examples of countable use:
- “The analyst completed an analysis.”
- “The report includes a financial analysis.”
- “That analysis contains a sampling error.”
The plural analyses is normally countable and can appear with numbers or plural determiners. “Analyses is central to research” is generally incorrect when the writer means the general activity. Use “analysis is central to research” or “analyses are central to the report,” depending on the intended meaning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is “analysises” ever correct?
No. Analysises is not the standard plural of analysis. The correct plural is analyses, formed by replacing the singular ending -is with -es. Write “two analyses,” “several analyses,” or “the analyses were compared.”
Is the plural pronounced “analysis-es”?
No. Analyses is pronounced “uh-NAL-uh-seez,” not “uh-NAL-uh-sis-es.” The final sound is a long “ee” followed by a voiced “z” sound. The singular analysis ends with “sis,” while the plural analyses ends with “seez.”
What is the plural of “data analysis”?
The plural is usually data analyses. For example, “The project included three data analyses.” Use data analysis when referring to one examination or to the general practice of examining data.
Is “analyses” the plural of “analyst”?
No. The plural of analyst is analysts. An analyst is a person who performs an analysis, while analyses means multiple examinations. “The analysts completed several analyses” correctly uses both plural forms.
Should I write “analysis’” or “analysis’s”?
For the singular possessive, analysis’s is widely accepted and recommended by many style authorities, including Chicago style. Some editorial systems use analysis’. For the plural possessive, write analyses’, because analyses already ends in -s.
What is the difference between “analytical” and “analytic”?
Both adjectives relate to analysis. Analytical often describes a person, approach, or habit of examining details, while analytic frequently appears in technical phrases such as analytic geometry or analytic solution. Usage varies by field and dictionary, so neither word is the plural of analysis.
The Bottom Line
The answer to what’s the plural of analysis is analyses. Use analysis for one examination and analyses for two or more, pronounce the plural “uh-NAL-uh-seez,” and never write analysises. Keep analytics for data-related methods or systems, use plural verbs with the noun analyses, and reserve apostrophes for possessive forms such as analyses’.
