Most singular nouns are made plural by simply putting an -s at the end. There are many different rules regarding pluralization, singular and plural nouns, depending on what letter a noun ends in. Irregular nouns do not follow plural noun rules, so they must be memorized or looked up in the dictionary.
REGULAR NOUNS
Most singular nouns form the plural by adding -s.
EXAMPLES
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
boat | boats |
house | houses |
cat | cats |
river | rivers |
A singular noun ending in s, x, z, ch, sh makes the plural by adding-es.
EXAMPLES
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
bus | buses |
wish | wishes |
pitch | pitches |
box | boxes |
A singular noun ending in a consonant and then y makes the plural by dropping the y and adding-ies.
EXAMPLES
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
penny | pennies |
spy | spies |
baby | babies |
city | cities |
daisy | daisies |
IRREGULAR NOUNS
There are some irregular noun plurals. The most common ones are listed below.
EXAMPLES
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
woman | women |
man | men |
child | children |
tooth | teeth |
foot | feet |
person | people |
leaf | leaves |
mouse | mice |
goose | geese |
half | halves |
knife | knives |
wife | wives |
life | lives |
elf | elves |
loaf | loaves |
potato | potatoes |
tomato | tomatoes |
cactus | cacti |
focus | foci |
fungus | fungi |
nucleus | nuclei |
syllabus | syllabi/syllabuses |
analysis | analyses |
diagnosis | diagnoses |
oasis | oases |
thesis | theses |
crisis | crises |
phenomenon | phenomena |
criterion | criteria |
datum | data |
Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural.
EXAMPLES
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
sheep | sheep |
fish | fish |
deer | deer |
species | species |
aircraft | aircraft |
IRREGULAR VERB/NOUN AGREEMENT
Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb.
Plural nouns used with a singular verb | Sentence |
---|---|
news | The news is at 6.30 p.m. |
athletics | Athletics is good for young people. |
linguistics | Linguistics is the study of language. |
darts | Darts is a popular game in England. |
billiards | Billiards is played all over the world. |
Some nouns have a fixed plural form and take a plural verb. They are not used in the singular, or they have a different meaning in the singular. Nouns like this include: trousers, jeans, glasses, savings, thanks, steps, stairs, customs, congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts, goods, wits
Plural noun with plural verb | Sentence |
---|---|
trousers | My trousers are too tight. |
jeans | Her jeans are black. |
glasses | Those glasses are his. |