Plurals of Nouns
Remembering the following rules will help you spell the plural forms of nouns.
(1) For most nouns, add s.
SINGULAR
- brick
- eye
- lizard
- Smith
- word
PLURAL
- bricks
- eyes
- lizards
- Smiths
- words
(2) For nouns ending in s, x, z, ch, or sh, add es.
SINGULAR
- boss
- mix
- Gomez
- church
- wish
PLURAL
- bosses
- mixes
- Gomezes
- churches
- wishes
TIP
If the plural form of a word has one more syllable than the singular form, then the plural word is probably spelled with es.
EXAMPLE
The singular word pinch has one syllable. The plural word pinches has two syllables: pinch•es. The plural word pinches is formed by adding es to the singular word pinch.
(3) For nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel, add s.
SINGULAR
- boy
- journey
- tray
PLURAL
- boys
- journeys
- trays
(4) For nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant, change the y to i and add es.
SINGULAR
- mutiny
- penny
- sky
PLURAL
- mutinies
- pennies
- skies
(5) For some nouns ending in f or fe, add s. For others, change the f or fe to v and add es.
SINGULAR
- roof
- safe
- leaf
- wife
- wharf
PLURAL
SINGULAR
- igloo
- patio
- radio
- stereo
PLURAL
SINGULAR
- hero
- potato
- tomato
- veto
PLURAL
- heroes
- potatoes
- tomatoes
- vetoes
EXCEPTIONS
- pianos
- solos
- egos
- photos
NOTE
Most words that refer to music and end in o form the plural by adding s. If you are unsure of how a word forms the plural, look the word up in a dictionary.
(8) The plurals of a few nouns are formed irregularly.
SINGULAR
- child
- louse
- tooth
- woman
PLURAL
SINGULAR
- aircraft
- deer
- pliers
- sheep
PLURAL
- aircraft
- deer
- pliers
- sheep
(10) For most compound nouns, form the plural of only the last word of the compound.
SINGULAR
- doorbell
- picture window
- five-year-old
PLURAL
- doorbells
- picture windows
- five-year-olds
SINGULAR
- brother-in-law
- editor in chief
- bird-watcher
PLURAL
- brothers-in-law
- editors in chief
- bird-watchers
(12) For some nouns borrowed from other languages, the plural is formed as in the original language.
A few nouns borrowed from other languages have two acceptable plural forms.
SINGULAR
- alumnus
- criterion
PLURAL
- alumni
- criteria or criterions
(13) To form the plurals of numerals, most uppercase letters, symbols, and most words referred to as words, add an s or both an apostrophe and an s.
SINGULAR
- 20
- C
- $
- if
PLURAL
- 20s or 20’s
- Cs or C’s
- $s or $’s
- ifs or if’s
Plurals of Nouns Quiz
FAQs
Q: How are regular noun plurals formed in English?A: Regular noun plurals are typically formed by adding -s or -es to the end of the noun. For example, "book" becomes "books" and "box" becomes "boxes."
Q: What are some rules for irregular plural nouns?
A: Irregular plurals can change the vowel sound (e.g. mouse/mice) or end in -en or -ren like "oxen" and "children." Some stay the same in plural form like "sheep" and "deer."
Q: When do we use -es for plurals?
A: -Es is added to form the plural if the noun ends in s, sh, ch, x, or z. This includes "buses," "churches," "boxes," and "quizzes."
Q: How are plurals formed for words ending in y?
A: If the noun ends in a consonant then y, change the y to ies like "baby" to "babies." But just add -s if it ends in a vowel then y like "day" to "days."
Q: What are some plurals taken from other languages?
A: Some foreign plurals use their language's rules like "fungi" (Latin), "criteria" (Greek), and "memoranda" (Latin).
References
- Aronoff, Mark. Morphology by Itself: Stems and Inflectional Classes. MIT press, 1994.
- Kroch, Anthony. "Reflexes of grammar in patterns of language change." Language Variation and Change 1.3 (1989): 199-244.
- Bauer, Laurie. English Word-formation. Cambridge University Press, 1983.