THE PLURAL
NOUNS
Definition:
When you are talking about two or more people, animals, places, or things,
use plural nouns. Please study the rules as the following:
HOW TO MAKE
SINGULAR NOUNS PLURAL
Rule 1: Most
nouns are made plural by adding -s at the end.
Singular
- Plural
bird – birds
broom – brooms
camel – camels
desk– desks
doll – dolls
flower – flowers
fork– forks
game – games
lamb – lambs
nest – nests
pen – pens
photo – photos
shirt – shirts
spoon – spoons
star – stars
bat – bats
mug – mugs
fan – fans
cap – caps
Rule
2: When the last letters of singular
nouns are ch, sh, s, ss or x, you usually add -es to form the plural.
Singular
- Plural
beach - beaches
branch - branches
box - boxes
bush - bushes
church - churches
dish - dishes
dress - dresses
sandwich - sandwiches
witch - witches
bus – buses
glass – glasses
brush – brushes
watch – watches
fox – foxes
Rule
3: When a singular noun ending in
consonant + -y, the y must be changed to –ies to make the plural.
Singular
- Plural
baby - babies
cherry - cherries
diary - diaries
dictionary - dictionaries
fairy - fairies
family - families
fly - flies
lady - ladies
library - libraries
puppy - puppies
story - stories
strawberry - strawberries
butterfly – butterflies
cannary – cannaries
lily – lilies
candy – candies
Rule
4: What if there is a vowel before the y?
In that case, add -s to form the plural.
Singular
- Plural
chimney - chimneys
cowboy - cowboys
day - days
donkey - donkeys
jersey - jerseys
kidney - kidneys
monkey - monkeys
toy - toys
trolley - trolleys
valley – valleys
key – keys
turkey – turkeys
tray – trays
Rule 5: If
a noun ends in -f, you often change f to v, and add -es.
Singular
- Plural
calf - calves
loaf - loaves
elf - elves
shelf - shelves
half - halves
thief - thieves
leaf - leaves
wolf – wolves
Rule 6: Often
nouns that end in -f, just need -s to form the plural.
Singular
- Plural
chef - chefs
handkerchief - handkerchiefs
chief - chiefs
roof - roofs
cliff - cliffs
sheriff – sheriffs
Rule
7: For some words that end in -f, the
plural can be spelled in two different ways.
Singular
- Plural
dwarf - dwarfs or dwarves
hoof - hoofs or hooves
scarf - scarfs or scarves
Rule 8: With
some words that end in -fe, you change f to v, and add -s.
Singular
- Plural
knife - knives
life - lives
wife – wives
Note: But
you only add -s to giraffe to form the plural.
Rule 9: If a noun
ends in -o, you just add -s to form the plural.
Singular
- Plural
a hippo - hippos
a video - videos
a zoo – zoos
a rhino – rhinos
photo – photos
radio – radios
kangaroo – kangaroos
Note: But
with some nouns that end in -o, you add -es to form the plural.
Singular
- Plural
a tomato - tomatoes
a potato - potatoes
a hero – heroes
a flamingo – flamingoes
Note: With
some nouns that end in -o, you can add either -s or -es to form the plural.
Singular
- Plural
a mango – mangoes / mangos
a mosquito – mosquitoes /
mosquitos
a zero - zeroes / zeros
a buffalo - buffaloes / buffalos
Rule
10: Some plural nouns
don’t follow the -s rule. They don’t end in -s, -es, -ies or -ves. Instead, the
word changes form.
Singular
- Plural
child - children
man - men
ox - oxen
tooth - teeth
woman – women
mouse – mice
goose - geese
foot – feet
louse - lice
Note: The
plural of the mouse that you use with your computer is either mice or mouses.
Rule 11: Some plural
nouns are the same as the singular noun.
Singular
- Plural
bison - bison
deer – deer
sheep – sheep
species – species
series – series
reindeer – reindeer
fish – fish
Note: You can use fishes as the plural of fish when you are
talking about
different
kinds of fish: all the fishes of the Pacific Ocean.
Rule 12: Some nouns
are always plural.
pants
scissors
pajamas
sneakers
shorts
slippers
trousers
stockings
sandals
binoculars
goggles
pliers
jeans
spectacles
Rule 13: You can
make these plural nouns singular by using a pair of:
a
pair of binoculars
a
pair of spectacles
a
pair of goggles
a
pair of jeans
a
pair of shorts
a
pair of pliers
Related information about nouns:
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