English nouns are inflected for grammatical number, meaning that if they are of the countable type, they generally have different forms for singular and plural.
This lesson discusses the variety of ways in which English plural nouns are formed from the corresponding singular forms, as well as various issues concerning the usage of singulars and plurals in English.
Rule 1
Most nouns are made plural by adding -s to the end of the singular form.
For Examples:
- car – cars
- bag – bags
- table – tables
- house – houses
- dog – dogs
Rule 2
Singular nouns that end in ‘s’, ‘x’, ‘z’, ‘ch’, ‘sh’,or ‘ss’, form the plural by adding –es.
For Examples:
- bus – buses
- bench – benches
- box – boxes
- dish – dishes
- truss – trusses
- marsh – marshes
- lunch – lunches
- tax – taxes
- blitz – blitzes
- watch – watches
Excepting:
- fez – fezzes
- gas – gasses
- quiz – quizzes
- bus – busses
Rule 3
The plural form of some nouns that end in ‘f’ or ‘fe’ is made by changing the ending to -ves.
For Examples:
- half – halves
- hoof – hooves
- calf – calves
- elf – elves
- shelf – shelves
- leaf – leaves
- loaf – loaves
- thief – thieves
- wolf – wolves
- life – lives
- knife – knives
- scarf – scarves
- wife – wives
Excepting:
- cuff – cuffs
- knockoff – knockoffs
- chef – chefs
- belief – beliefs
- roof – roofs
- chief – chiefs
Rule 4
Nouns ending in -o:
Nouns that end in ‘o’ preceded by a vowel are made plural by adding -s.
For Examples:
- radio – radios
- stereo – stereos
- video – videos
Nouns that end in “o” preceded by a consonant are made plural by adding -es.
For Examples:
- potato – potatoes
- tomato – tomatoes
- hero – heroes
- echo – echoes
- veto – vetoes
- domino – dominoes
Excepting:
- piano – pianos
- photo – photos
- halo – halos
- soprano – sopranos
Rule 5
Nouns ending in ‘y‘:
When the ‘y’ follows a consonant, changing ‘y’ to ‘i’ and adding –es:
For Examples:
- city – cities
- candy – candies
- country – countries
- family – families
- cherry – cherries
- lady – ladies
- puppy – puppies
- party – parties
When the ‘y’ follows a vowel, the plural is formed by retaining the ‘y’ and adding –s:
For Examples:
- day – days
- holiday – holidays
- ray – rays
- boy – boys
- toy – toys
- key – keys
- donkey – donkeys
Rule 6
Changing the spelling of singular noun:
For Examples:
- person – people
- ox – oxen
- man – men
- woman – women
- caveman – cavemen
- policeman – policemen
- child – children
- tooth – teeth
- foot – feet
- goose – geese
- mouse – mice
- mouse – lice
Rule 7
Some nouns use the same singular and plural form:
For Examples:
- aircraft – aircraft
- barracks – barracks
- deer – deer
- gallows – gallows
- moose – moose
- salmon – salmon
- hovercraft – hovercraft
- spacecraft – spacecraft
- series – series
- species – species
- means – means
- offspring – offspring
- deer – deer
- fish – fish
- sheep – sheep
Rule 8
Some nouns are of Latin/Greek/French Origin:
For Examples:
Nouns of Latin Origin:
- alumnus – alumni/alumnuses
- apex – apices/apeces
- appendix – appendices/ appendixes
Nouns of French Origin:
For Examples:
- chateau – chateaux/chateaus
- bureau – bureaux/ bureaus
- tableau – tableaux/tableaus
Nouns of Greek Origin:
For Examples:
- diagnosis – diagnoses
- ellipsis – ellipses
- hypothesis – hypotheses
- oasis – oases
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