How to make Plurals of Nouns
1. Regular Plural Forms
Most nouns make their plurals by simply adding –s to the end (e.g. cat/cats). Some do change their endings, though as you will see below.
1.1. How to form the plural
We form the plural by adding –s to the singular of the noun.
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
a boy | two boys |
a car | two cars |
a house | two houses |
a horse | two horses |
a book | two books |
1.2. Nouns ending in sibilants
If the noun ends with -ch, -s, -sh, -x, or -z, add -es to form the plural or just –s if the noun ends in one -e.
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
a box | two boxes |
a church | two churches |
a suitcase | two suitcases |
a rose | two roses |
a fox | two foxes |
There’s one exception to this rule. If the -ch ending is pronounced with a ‘k’ sound, you add -s rather than -es:
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
a stomach | two stomachs |
an epoch | two epochs |
1.3. Nouns ending in -y
1.3.1. y after consonant
If the noun ends with a consonant plus -y, make the plural by changing -y to -ies:
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
an activity | two activities |
a berry | two berries |
a city | two cities |
a daisy | two daisies |
1.3.2. y after vowel
If the noun ends with a vowel plus -y, make the plural by just adding -s:
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
a boy | two boys |
a day | two days |
a quay | two quays |
a tray | two trays |
1.4. Nouns ending in -f or -fe
1.4.1. Nouns which end in two vowels plus -f usually form plurals in the normal way, with just an -s
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
a roof | two roofs |
a chief | two chiefs |
a spoof | two spoofs |
1.4.2. With nouns that end in a consonant or a single vowel, change the -f or -fe to –ves:
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
a knife | two knives |
a wife | two wives |
a thief | two thieves |
Both forms are possible with the following nouns:
- scarf → scarfs/scarves
- hoof → hoofs/hooves
Add -s for words ending in -ff.
- cliff → cliffs
- sheriff → sheriffs
1.5. Nouns ending in -o
Nouns ending in -o can add either -s or -es in the plural, and some can be spelled either way.
- As a general rule, most nouns ending in -o add -s to make the plural:
1.5.1. Add -s
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
a disco | two discos |
a piano | two pianos |
a photo | two photos |
1.5.2. Here are some examples of nouns ending in -o that are always spelled with -es in the plural:
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
a tomato | two tomatoes |
an echo | two echoes |
a potato | two potatoes |
a torpedo | two torpedoes |
a hero | two heroes |
Both forms are possible with the following nouns:
- banjo → banjos/banjoes
- ghettos → ghettos/ghettoes
- mosquito → mosquitos/mosquitoes
- tornado → tornados/tornadoes
- volcano → volcanos /volcanoes
2. Irregular Plural Forms
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
a man | two men |
a woman | two women |
a child | two children |
a mouse | two mice |
a tooth | two teeth |
a goose | two geese |
a foot | two feet |
an ox | two oxen |