Singular
and
Plural Nouns
#76
To form the plural of most
nouns, add -s:
ski
guru
miser
banana
menu
encyclopedia
breakfast
skis
gurus
misers
bananas
menus
encyclopedias
breakfasts
To form the plural of a noun
ending in –y preceded by
vowel, add only an –s.
key
ploy
birthday
jersey
keys
ploys
birthdays
jerseys
To form the plural of a noun
ending in –y preceded by a
consonant, change the –y to –i
and add –es.
country
spy
dictionary
countries
spies
dictionaries
EXCEPTION:
To form the plural of
proper nouns ending in –y
preceded by a consonant,
just add an –s.
the Kennedys
the Bradys
the Cosbys
two hot Julys
To form the plural of a noun
ending in –s, -sh, -ch, -z, or x,
add –es:
fax
faxes
bonus
bonuses
atlas
atlases
leash
leashes
watch
watches
tax
taxes
Double the final consonant of
one-syllable words ending in a
single –s or –z preceded by
vowel:
bus
buses or busses
quiz
quizzes
Proper nouns ending in –s, -sh,
ch, -z, and –x also form their
Plurals with an –es:
the Joneses
the Harrises
the Willises
two Gladyses in my class
the Hirsches
the Martinezes
Don’t add –es to a proper noun
ending in –s if the additional
inflection creates a false
pronunciation:
two Mercedes, not two
Mercedeses.
Dictionaries may differ in their
spelling of words ending in –o:
tornado
tornadoes, tornados
memento
mementos,
mementoes
halo
halos, haloes
mosquito
mosquitoes
To form the plural of some
Nouns ending in –o preceded
by a consonant, add –s:
taco
tacos
photo
photos
ghetto
ghettos
embryo
embryos
piano
pianos
To form the plural of a noun
ending in–o preceded by a vowel,
add an –s:
stereo
stereos
rodeo
rodeos
shampoo
shampoos
radio
radios
To form the plural of some
nouns ending in –o preceded
by a consonant, add –es:
potato
potatoes
veto
vetoes
To form the plural of some words
ending in –f or –fe, add –s only; to
others, change the –f to –v and
add –es:
belief
beliefs
roof
roofs
sheriff
sheriffs
tiff
tiffs
half
halves
leaf
leaves
life
lives
shelf
shelves
dwarf
dwarfs or dwarves
scarf
scarfs or scarves
Some nouns form their plurals
in irregular ways:
ox
oxen
child
children
man
men
woman
women
die
dice
mouse
mice
To form the plural of some compound nouns, change the last
element of the compound:
a three-year-old
three-year-olds
handful
handfuls
cease-fire
cease-fires
madman
madmen
With other compound nouns, change the form of the word that’s
clearly the most important:
statute of limitations
statutes of limitations
mother-in-law
mothers-in-law
rule of thumb
rules of thumb
passer-by
passers-by
runner-up
runners-up
bill of sale
bills of sale
poet laureate
poets laureates
court martial
court martials
attorney general
attorneys general or
attorney generals
Nouns derived from foreign
words change their spelling
altogether:
alumnus
alumna
crisis
analysis
nucleus
parenthesis
medium
criterion
basis
memorandum
syllabus
bacterium
opus
alumni
alumnae
crises
analyses
nuclei
parentheses
media
criteria
bases
memorandums
or memoranda
syllabuses or
syllabi
bacteria
opera
Some nouns don’t change their
form:
species
corps
salmon
series
status
hiatus
salmon
deer
sheep
means
Chinese
To form the plural of
symbols, letters, and words,
add an apostrophe and –s:
four S’s in the word Mississippi
no if’s, and’s, or but’s