Plural of Nouns

PLURAL OF NOUNS

In general, for the plural of nouns in English, just add the letter S:

notebook – notebooks

meeting – meetings

professional  – professionals

But there are other rules to change the nouns to the plural form. Let’s check them.

Nouns ending in SH, CH, SS, X and Z

Add ES for nouns ending with letters SH, CH, SS, X, and Z:

brush – brushes

watch – watches

kiss – kisses

fox – foxes

buzz – buzzes

Pay attention!

Add just S for some nouns ending in CH, but with /k/ sound.

stomach – stomachs

monarch – monarchs

Nouns ending in O

Nouns ending in O can add either S or ES in the plural, and some can be spelled in both ways.

General rule: just add S for nouns ending in O and those which have a vowel before the final O always just add S:

piano – pianos

zoo – zoos

photo – photos

kilo – kilos

studio – studios

Some common nouns ending in O that are always spelled with ES in the plural:

buffalo – buffaloes

echo – echoes

hero – heroes

domino – dominoes

mosquito – mosquitoes

tomato – tomatoes

potato – potatoes

veto – vetoes

There are some nouns ending in O that can be spelled with S or ES in the plural form:

cargo – cargos or cargoes

ghetto – ghettos or ghettoes

mango – mangos or mangoes

volcano – volcanos or volcanoes

memento – mementos or mementoes

tuxedo – tuxedos or tuxedoes

flamingo – flamingos or flamingoes

Nouns ending in Y

A noun ending in a consonant and then Y makes the plural by dropping the Y and adding IES.

country – countries

dictionary – dictionaries

city – cities

The nouns ending in a vowel and then Y just add S.

day – days

key – keys

guy – guys

Nouns ending in F or FE

Usually for nouns ending in F or FE just add S

chief – chiefs

safe – safes

proof – proofs

But there are some nouns ending in F or FE that make the plural by dropping  the F or FE and adding VES:

loaf – loaves

life – lives

leaf – leaves

knife – knives

half – halves

elf – elves

calf – calves

self – selves

sheaf – sheaves

shelf – shelves

thief – thieves

wife – wives

wolf – wolves

Pay attention!

Some nouns ending in F or FE can have their plural both ways (with VES or S)

dwarf – dwarfs or dwarves

hoof – hoofs or hooves

scarf – scarfs or scarves

staff – staffs or staves

wharf – wharfs or wharves

Some nouns have the same form in the singular and in the plural.

sheep

Plurals of Foreign Nouns

Some words of Latin or Greek origin have different rules for their formation in the plural.

criterion – criteria

phenomenon – phenomena

demon – demons

electron – electrons

neutron – neutrons

proton – protons

analysis – analyses

basis – bases

crisis – crises

hypothesis – hypotheses

bacterium – bacteria

curriculum –  curricula

Also learn from Captain English about Imperative here.