A plural noun refers to more than one person, place or thing.
When forming regular plural nouns, check the last letters of the words to decide if you:
-
add -s or -es
-
change -y to -ies
-
change -f or -fe to -ves
|
Singular |
Plural |
|
Add -s |
cat |
cats |
| -s | -sh | -ch | -x | |
Add -es |
access → accesses floss → flosses atlas → atlases stress → stresses |
dish → dishes crash → crashes radish → radishes wish → wishes |
bench → benches lunch → lunches match → matches patches → patches |
fox → foxes ax → axes tax → taxes box → boxes |
| Generally | add -es | hero → heroes tomato → tomatoes potato → potatoes volcano → volcanoes |
| Sometimes | add -s | logo → logos photo → photos piano → pianos pro → pros |
| vowel + o | add -s | bamboo → bamboos cameo → cameos folio → folios video → videos |
| consonant + y | replace the -y by -ies | country → countries gallery → galleries hobby → hobbies injury → injuries |
| vowel + y | add -s | boy → boys donkey → donkeys holiday → holidays valley → valleys |
| Generally | replace -f or -fe by -ves | calf → calves half → halves leaf → leaves self → selves wolf → wolves |
knife → knives life → lives wife → wives |
| Sometimes | just add -s | chef → chefs giraffe → giraffes cafe → cafes gulf → gulfs safe → safes |
|
| Sometimes | both -ves and -s are correct |
dwarfs or dwarves |
|
Some nouns do not follow the normal add -s or -es in the plural form. They are called irregular plural nouns.
Changing Forms in the Plural |
|||
| mouse → mice louse → lice |
person → people man → men woman → women |
goose → geese tooth → teeth foot → feet |
child → children ox → oxen |
Nouns ending in -ch
|
|---|
|
hierarchs |
Invariable Nouns |
|
|---|---|
|
Nouns keeping the |
barracks |
|
Nouns |
glasses |
|
Nouns |
billiards |
Nouns with Greek or Latin Roots |
|
|---|---|
|
-is
|
analysis → analyses |
|
-a add -e |
alga → algae |
|
-us replaced by -i |
cactus → cacti |
|
-um replaced by -a |
bacterium → bacteria |
|
-ix replaced by -ices |
appendix → appendices |
|
-on replaced by -a |
criterion → criteria |
|
-ma add -ta |
dogma → dogmata |
|
Singular |
Plural |
Meaning |
|
brother |
brothers |
sons of the same parents |
|
brethren |
members of a society or a community |
|
|
die |
dies |
various tools to induce shapes or finish to materials |
|
dice |
small cubes used in games |
|
|
cloth |
cloths |
pieces of cloth |
|
clothes |
garments or dresses |
| 'S' is pronounced /S/ |
'S' is pronounced /Z/ |
'S' is pronounced /IZ/ |
|
Nouns ending with the sounds /p/ /t/ /k/ /f/ |
Nouns ending with the sounds |
Nouns ending with the sounds /s/ /z/ /sh/ /ch/ |
| groups (group/s/) acts (act/s/) clocks (clock/s/) chiefs (chief/s/) |
dreams (dream/z/) balls (ball/z/) stars (star/z/) potatoes (potato/z/) |
choices (choic/iz/) dishes (dish/iz/) houses (hous/iz/) pouches (pouch/iz/) |