The formation of plurals
In general, when a countable noun refers to two or more things, it must be put into the plural. In English, the plural of most countable nouns is formed by adding
s. For example:
Singular | Plural |
hat | hats |
letter | letters |
pencil | pencils |
student | students |
It has already been explained that a verb must agree with its subject. When the subject of a verb is a singular noun, the verb must be in the third person singular. The third person singular is the form of the verb used with the personal pronouns
he,
she, and
it.
When the subject of a verb is a plural noun, the verb must be in the third person plural. The third person plural is the form of the verb used with the personal pronoun
they. In the following examples, the verbs are printed in bold type and their subjects are underlined.
Singular Subject: The
book is interesting.
Plural Subject: The
books are interesting.
Singular Subject: A
duck was flying overhead.
Plural Subject: Two
ducks were flying overhead.
Singular Subject: One
student lives here.
Plural Subject: Three
students live here.
a. Nouns ending in ch, s, sh, x or zFor nouns ending in
ch,
s,
sh,
x or
z, the plural is formed by adding
es. The reason for this is that these words would be difficult to pronounce if only
s were added. The ending
es is pronounced as a separate syllable. For example:
Singular | Plural |
branch | branches |
match | matches |
bus | buses |
pass | passes |
dish | dishes |
marsh | marshes |
ax | axes |
fox | foxes |
buzz | buzzes |
It should be noted that when a plural is formed by adding
s to words ending in
ce,
ge,
se or
ze, the final
es is pronounced as a separate syllable. For example:
Singular | Plural |
place | places |
voice | voices |
change | changes |
page | pages |
house | houses |
phrase | phrases |
size | sizes |
In each of the preceding examples, the singular noun consists of one syllable, whereas the plural noun consists two syllables.
b. Nouns ending in yNouns ending in
y preceded by a consonant usually form the plural by changing the
y to
i and adding
es. For example:
Singular | Plural |
candy | candies |
city | cities |
lady | ladies |
story | stories |
Nouns ending in
y preceded by a vowel usually form the plural simply by adding
s. For example:
Singular | Plural |
boy | boys |
day | days |
key | keys |
toy | toys |
c. Plurals of proper nounsProper nouns form plurals following the rules given above, except that proper nouns ending in
y always form the plural simply by adding
s, even when the
y is preceded by a consonant. For example:
Singular | Plural |
Jill | Jills |
Tom | Toms |
George | Georges |
Grace | Graces |
Jones | Joneses |
Max | Maxes |
May | Mays |
Nancy | Nancys |
Sally | Sallys |
d. Nouns ending in f or feSome English nouns ending in
f or
fe change the
f to
v when forming the plural. For instance, the following nouns ending in
f form the plural by changing the
f to
v and adding
es:
Singular | Plural |
calf | calves |
elf | elves |
half | halves |
leaf | leaves |
loaf | loaves |
self | selves |
sheaf | sheaves |
shelf | shelves |
thief | thieves |
wolf | wolves |
In addition, the following nouns ending in
fe form the plural by changing the
f to
v and adding
s:
Singular | Plural |
knife | knives |
life | lives |
wife | wives |
There are also a few nouns ending in
f which can form the plural in two different ways. For example:
Singular | Plural |
hoof | hoofs or hooves |
scarf | scarfs or scarves |
staff | staffs or staves |
wharf | wharfs or wharves |
Most other nouns ending in
f or
fe form the plural simply by adding
s.
e. Nouns ending in oSome English nouns ending in
o form the plural by adding
s, some form the plural by adding
es, and some can form the plural by adding either
s or
es. The following fairly commonly used nouns form the plural by adding
es:
Singular | Plural |
archipelago | archipelagoes |
cargo | cargoes |
echo | echoes |
hero | heroes |
innuendo | innuendoes |
mosquito | mosquitoes |
potato | potatoes |
tomato | tomatoes |
tornado | tornadoes |
torpedo | torpedoes |
veto | vetoes |
volcano | volcanoes |
Most other nouns ending in
o, particularly those of Spanish or Italian origin, can form the plural simply by adding
s; however a good dictionary should be consulted in cases of doubt. For example:
Singular | Plural |
albino | albinos |
alto | altos |
casino | casinos |
piano | pianos |
radio | radios |
ratio | ratios |
silo | silos |
solo | solos |
sombrero | sombreros |
soprano | sopranos |
studio | studios |
f. Foreign wordsMany words from other languages have been adopted into the English language. Most of these form the plural by adding
s or
es, but some, particularly Greek and Latin words used for scientific purposes, form the plural in the same way that they do in the original language. For example:
Singular | Plural |
analysis | analyses |
axis | axes |
basis | bases |
crisis | crises |
criterion | criteria |
honorarium | honoraria |
hypothesis | hypotheses |
medium | media |
nebula | nebulae |
nucleus | nuclei |
oasis | oases |
parenthesis | parentheses |
phenomenon | phenomena |
spectrum | spectra |
stimulus | stimuli |
stratum | strata |
synopsis | synopses |
synthesis | syntheses |
thesis | theses |
vertebra | vertebrae |
g. Hyphenated nounsIn the case of nouns formed from two or more words joined by hyphens, usually only the last word forms a plural. However, there are a few cases in which only the first word forms a plural. For example:
Singular | Plural |
brother-in-law | brothers-in-law |
daughter-in-law | daughters-in-law |
father-in-law | fathers-in-law |
mother-in-law | mothers-in-law |
runner-up | runners-up |
sister-in-law | sisters-in-law |
son-in-law | sons-in-law |
h. Numbers and lettersNumbers, letters, and other symbols can form plurals by adding
's. For example:
Singular | Plural |
3 | 3's |
b | b's |
% | %'s |
i. Irregular pluralsThe English language has not always used
s to form plurals. There are still a few words surviving from Old English, which do not use
s to form the plural. For example:
Singular | Plural |
child | children |
foot | feet |
goose | geese |
tooth | teeth |
louse | lice |
mouse | mice |
ox | oxen |
man | men |
woman | women |
Nouns ending in
man usually form the plural by changing
man to
men. For example:
Singular | Plural |
gentleman | gentlemen |
policeman | policemen |
policewoman | policewomen |
A few nouns do not change in the plural. For example:
Singular | Plural |
deer | deer |
sheep | sheep |
salmon | salmon |