Plural Nouns
The rules
and the exceptions.
Add –s to most nouns
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skateboard – skateboards
painting – paintings
ticket – tickets
bee - bees
Add –es to nouns that end with a hissing
sound (s, ss, sh, ch, x, z, zz)
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wrench – wrenches
walrus – walruses
compass - compasses
toolbox – toolboxes
buzz of bees - buzzes of bees
Add –s to most nouns that end in o
preceded by a vowel or consonant
Words that follow the rule:
• radio – radios
• piano – pianos
• auto – autos
• igloo – igloos
Exceptions to the rule:
• potato – potatoes
• tomato - tomatoes
• echo – echoes
• hero – heroes
• jingo – jingoes
• no – noes
More o exceptions: Some nouns ending with the
letter o preceded by a consonant can form the plural
two ways
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zero - zeros or zeroes
buffalo – buffalos or buffaloes
cargo – cargos or cargoes
desperado – desperados or desperadoes
halo – halos or haloes
mosquito – mosquitos or mosquitoes
When a noun ends in y
If a consonant comes before the y,
change the y to i and add es
If a vowel comes before the y, just
add -s
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butterfly – butterflies
flurry – flurries
deputy – deputies
battery – batteries
dairy - batteries
monkey – monkeys
alley – alleys
play – plays
turkey - turkeys
Nouns Ending in f, fe, ff
For most nouns ending in f, fe, or ff,
change the f to -ves
Just add –s to a few nouns that
end in f, fe, ff
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calf - calves
elf - elves
half - halves
knife - knives
life - lives
loaf - loaves
self - selves (ourselves, yourselves,
themselves)
• shelf - shelves
• thief - thieves
• wife - wives
surf - surfs
giraffe – giraffes
cliff – cliffs
belief – beliefs
safe – safes
chef – chefs
ref - refs
MORE...Nouns Ending in f, fe, ff
For some nouns ending in ife,
change the f to a v and then add -s
Some nouns ending in f, fe, ff
have two forms of the plural
• wife - wives
• life - lives
• knife - knives
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dwarf - dwarfs or dwarves
hoof - hoofs or hooves
scarf - scarfs or scarves
staff - staffs or staves
wharf - wharfs or wharves
Nouns Ending in i
Most nouns that end in i form the
plural by adding the letter s.
Some nouns ending with the letter i
form the plural both by adding s
and/or es
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• taxi-taxis-taxies
• alkali-alkalis-alkalies
• chili-chilies
ski – skis
alibi-alibis
khaki-khakis
rabbi-rabbis
Nouns That Have Irregular Plural
Forms
Some nouns change their vowels
in the middle of the singular
form when forming the plural
Compounds of words man and
woman form plurals the same
way:
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• woman – women
• mailman - mailmen
goose – geese
foot - feet
louse - lice
man - men
mouse - mice
tooth - teeth
More... Nouns That Have Irregular
Plural Forms
Several nouns form the plural by
adding the letters -en
• child - children
• ox - oxen
Some words with descriptive
adjectives and hyphens form the
plural by adding the correct affix
to the noun portion of the word.
• father-in-law/fathers-in law
• mother-in-law /mothers-inlaw
• brother-in-law/ brothers-inlaw
• sister-in-law /sisters-in-law
• attorney-general /attorneysgeneral
Even More... Nouns That Have
Irregular Plural Forms
There are a number of animals
that have the same singular and
plural form:
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bison - bison
deer - deer
moose - moose
sheep - sheep
swine - swine
There are also some animal
names that form the plural using
-s or -es form:
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antelope - antelope or antelopes
cod - cod or cods
elk - elk or elks
fish - fish or fishes
flounder - flounder or flounders
grouse - grouse or grouses
herring - herring or herrings
quail - quail or quails
reindeer - reindeer or reindeers
salmon - salmon or salmons
shrimp - shrimp or shrimps
trout - trout or trouts
If all else fails...
• Use a dictionary or spell check!