>>> n = 0 >>> print "%d item%s" % (n, "s"[n==1:]) 0 items >>> n = 1 >>> print "%d item%s" % (n, "s"[n==1:]) 1 item >>> n = 2 >>> print "%d item%s" % (n, "s"[n==1:]) 2 items # If you might want to print negative items, add abs to the test: >>> n = -1 >>> print "%d item%s" % (n, "s"[abs(n)==1:]) 2 items # If a word has irregular plural morphology, use a list: >>> n=1 >>> print "%d %s" % (n, ['abacus','abaci'][n!=1]) 1 abacus >>> n=2 >>> print "%d %s" % (n, ['abacus','abaci'][n!=1]) 2 abaci