Singular and Plural

Plural Nouns

English Grammar Rules

In general the plural of a noun is formed by adding -S to the noun.
SingularPlural
carcars
househouses
bookbooks
birdbirds
pencilpencils


However:
1. When the noun ends in S, SH, CH, X or Z*, we add -ES to the noun.
SingularPlural
kisskisses
wishwishes
matchmatches
foxfoxes
quizquizzes*
  • I have a box in my bedroom.
  • I have three boxes in my bedroom.
* With words that end in Z sometimes we add an extra Z to the plural form of the word (such as with the plural of quiz).

2. When the noun ends in a VOWEL + Y, we add -S to the noun.
SingularPlural
boyboys
holidayholidays
keykeys
guyguys

3. When the noun ends in a CONSONANT + Y, we remove Y and add -IES to the noun.
SingularPlural
partyparties
ladyladies
storystories
nannynannies
citycities

4. If the noun ends in F or FE, we remove the F/FE and add -VES to the noun.
SingularPlural
lifelives
leafleaves
thiefthieves
wifewives
Some exceptions: roof - roofs, cliff - cliffs, chief - chiefs, belief - beliefs, chef - chefs

5. If the noun ends in a CONSONANT + O, we normally add -ES to the noun.
SingularPlural
tomatotomatoes
potatopotatoes
echoechoes
heroheroes
Some exceptions: piano - pianos, halo - halos, photo - photos
NOTE: Volcano has two correct forms of plural. Both volcanos and volcanoes are accepted.
6. There are a number of nouns that don't follow these rules. They are irregular and you need to learn them individually because they don't normally have an S on the end.
SingularPlural
manmen
womanwomen
childchildren
footfeet
toothteeth
goosegeese
mousemice
  • There is a child in the park.
  • There are many children in the park.

7. There are some nouns in English that are the same in the singular and the plural.
SingularPlural
fishfish
sheepsheep
deerdeer
moosemoose
aircraftaircraft
  • I can see a sheep in the field.
  • I can see ten sheep in the field.
Sometimes you will hear the word fishes (especially in songs) though it is grammatically incorrect.

Summary Chart

The following is a summary chart of basic plural noun rules:
Regular and Irregular Plural Nouns in English
The next rules are a lot more advanced and even native speakers have difficulty with these. Unless you are an advanced student, I wouldn't recommend learning them just now.

8. If the noun ends in IS, we change it to ES. Words that end in IS usually have a Greek root.
SingularPlural
analysisanalyses
basisbases
crisiscrises

9. If the noun ends in US, we change it to I. Words that end in US usually have a Latin root.
SingularPlural
cactuscacti
fungusfungi
stimulusstimuli
syllabussyllabi

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