ENGLISH PLURALS
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The plural form of most nouns is
created simply by adding the letter 's'
to the end of the word .
hour –hours tree – trees house –
houses
Nouns that end in -ch, -x, -s, -sh, zz or slike sounds, the plural is formed by
adding 'es' to the end of the word.
watch – watches box – boxes
gas – gases brush – brushes
Nouns that end in a single -z, the plural
is formed by adding 'zes' to the end of
the word.
quiz - quizzes
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Most nouns ending in -o preceded by a
consonant also form their plurals by
adding 'es' .
potato – potatoes volcano – volcanoes
However many newly created words and
words with a Spanish or Italian origin that
end in -o just add an 's'.
piano – pianos photo – photos
Nouns ending in a consonant + y, drop the
y and add 'ies'.
lady – ladies party – parties
Most nouns ending in -f or -fe, drop the f
and add 'ves'.
wolf – wolves wife – wives
Most words ending in -is, drop the -is and
add -es.
crisis – crises oasis - oases
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There are many common nouns that have
irregular plurals.
man - men woman - women
child – children mouse - mice
tooth - teeth goose - geese
foot - feet ox – oxen
person – people
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Some nouns have identical plural and
singular forms, although they are still
considered to have a plural form.
sheep – sheep
fish – fish
aircraft – aircraft
Uncountable nouns
on the other hand have no plural form
and take a singular verb (is / was ...).
advice
money
information
traffic
news
sugar
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Some nouns (especially those
associated with two things) exist only in
the plural form and take a plural verb
(are / were...).
cattle scissors
trousers
tweezers
Nouns that stem from older forms of
English or are of foreign origin often
have odd plurals.
index - indices or indexes
phenomenon – phenomena
antenna - antennae – antennas
cactus – cacti – cactuses
In compound nouns the plural ending is
usually added to the main noun.
passer-by - passers-by
mother-in-law – mothers-in-law
fireman – firemen
attorney general - attorneys general
Exercises:
1. Write the plural of each of these nouns:
dress - …………………………… brush - ………………………….. touch - ………………………………
wish - ……………………………. class - …………………........... sketch - …………………………………
fox - ……………………………… cross - ……………………………. star - ……………………………………
bench - ………………………… bush - ………………………… city - …………………………….........
ax - …………………………….. grass - ………………………… cherry - ………………………………
mantis - ………………………. buzz - …………………………… essay - …………………………………
box- …………………………….. dish - ……………………………… baby - …………………………………
church - ……………………… boy - …………………………… story - ……………………………………
volley - ………………………… chimney - ……………………… day - ………………………………
cargo - ……………………… mosquito - ……………………… hero - ………………………………
canto - ………………………… solo - …………………………… piano - …………………………………
leaf - ……………………………… life - ……………………………… loaf - …………………………………
shelf - ………………………… half- …………………………… chief - ………………………………
roof - ………………………… belief - ………………………………..
2. Turn the following sentences into singular:
•Dogs are good friends to men.
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•Fir trees grow in the mountains.
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•Women do not watch football matches.
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•Children usually change their teeth when they are six years old.
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•These men have got new cars.
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•Those geese are right next to the horses.
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