Table of Contents
Introduction
Mastering plural nouns is a key aspect of effective communication. Plurals involve more than just adding an “s” to a word, as there are rules and exceptions that learners need to understand. This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of plural nouns, encompassing regular and irregular forms, as well as singular nouns that defy the typical pluralization rules.
What are Plural Nouns?
In English, plural nouns refer to more than one person, place, thing, or idea. While regular plurals generally involve adding “s” to the singular form, irregular plurals and exceptions introduce a layer of complexity.
Plural Rules: How to Change Singular Nouns to Plural Ones
To change a singular noun to its plural form in English, you usually add ‘s’. For example, the plural of book is books. The plural of “table” is “tables“. These are regular plurals.
But many nouns don’t follow this rule. For example, the plural of “fish” is “fish“. The plural of “tooth” is “teeth“. These are irregular plurals
1. Regular Plural Nouns In English:
A. How to Form Regular Plurals (Adding ‘s’):
The standard method involves adding “s” to the singular noun, such as “dog” becoming “dogs” or “snake” transforming into “snakes“.
Noun + s
Examples:
- More than one snake = snakes
- More than one girl = girls
- More than one window = windows
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| snake | snakes |
| window | windows |
| box | boxes |
| boy | boys |
| lorry | lorries |
| potato | potatoes |
| knife | knives |
B. Spelling of Regular Plurals:
While many plural nouns follow the above rule, the spelling sometimes differs. Here are some examples:
a. Nouns that end in -ch, x, s, z, or s-like sounds;
Nouns ending in -ch, -x, -s, -z, or s-like sounds require an “es” for the plural, as seen in witch to witches or box to boxes.
- More than one witch = witches
- More than one box = boxes
- More than one gas = gases
- More than one bus = buses
- More than one kiss = kisses
b. Nouns that end in a vowel + y:
Nouns that end in a vowel + y take the letter s:
- More than one boy = boys
- More than one way = ways
c. Nouns that end in a consonant + y
Nouns that end in a consonant + y drop the y and take ies:
- More than one baby = babies
- More than one lorry = lorries
d. Nouns that end in o:
1. A lot of nouns that end in o take es in the plural form:
- More than one potato = potatoes
- More than one hero = heroes
| o becomes oes | |
|---|---|
| echo | echoes |
| embargo | embargoes |
| hero | heroes |
| potato | potatoes |
| tomato | tomatoes |
| torpedo | torpedoes |
| veto | vetoes |
2. Some nouns ending in o break the above rule and get os in the plural form:
| o becomes os | |
|---|---|
| auto | autos |
| kangaroo | kangaroos |
| kilo | kilos |
| memo | memos |
| photo | photos |
| piano | pianos |
| pimento | pimentos |
| pro | pros |
| solo | solos |
| soprano | sopranos |
| studio | studios |
| tattoo | tattoos |
| video | videos |
| zoo | zoos |
3. Other nouns ending in o get either os or oes in the plural forms:
| o becomes os or oes | |
|---|---|
| buffalo | buffalos/buffaloes |
| cargo | cargos/cargoes |
| halo | halos/haloes |
| mosquito | mosquitos/mosquitoes |
| motto | mottos/mottoes |
| no | nos/noes |
| tornado | tornados/tornadoes |
| volcano | volcanos/volcanoes |
| zero | zeros/zeroes |
4. Nouns that end in f’‘ or ‘fe’:
Plurals of nouns that end in f or fe usually change the f sound to a v sound and add s or -es.
- more than one knife = knives
- more than one leaf = leaves
- more than one hoof = hooves
- more than one life = lives
- more than one self = selves
- more than one elf = elves
2. Irregular Plural Nouns In English:
a. Irregular Nouns
Several nouns have irregular plural forms in English:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| fish | fish |
| sheep | sheep |
| barracks | barracks |
| foot | feet |
| tooth | teeth |
| goose | geese |
| tooth | teeth |
| goose | geese |
| child | children |
| man | men |
| woman | women |
| person | people |
| mouse | mice |
Plurals formed in this way are sometimes called irregular plurals or mutated (or mutating) plurals.
Here are more examples:
- more than one child = children
- more than one woman = women
- more than one man = men
- more than one person = people
- more than one goose = geese
- more than one mouse = mice
- more than one barracks = barracks
- more than one deer = deer
b. Plurals that change ‘a’ to ‘ae’
Some foreign nouns retain their plural. (Note that some of them adapted the ‘s‘ of the English plural form!)
| Singular | Foreign plural | English plural |
|---|---|---|
| alga | algae | – |
| amoeba | amoebae | amoebas |
| antenna | antennae | antennas |
| formula | formulae | formulas |
| larva | larvae | – |
| nebula | nebulae | nebulas |
| vertebra | vertebrae | – |
c. Plurals that change ‘us’ to ‘i’ or ‘s’
Nouns ending in ‘us‘ get ‘a‘, ‘i‘, or the ‘s‘ of the English plural:
| Singular | Foreign plural | English plural |
|---|---|---|
| corpus | corpora | – |
| genus | genera | – |
| alumnus | alumni | – |
| bacillus | bacilli | – |
| cactus | cacti | cactuses |
| focus | foci | – |
| fungus | fungi | funguses |
| nucleus | nuclei | – |
| octopus | octopi | octopuses |
| radius | radii | – |
| stimulus | stimuli | – |
| syllabus | syllabi | syllabuses |
| terminus | termini | – |
d. Plurals that change ‘um’ to ‘i’
Nouns ending in ‘um‘ get ‘a‘, ‘i‘, or the ‘s‘ of the English plural:
| Singular | Foreign plural | English plural |
|---|---|---|
| addendum | addenda | – |
| bacterium | bacteria | – |
| curriculum | curricula | curriculums |
| datum | data | – |
| erratum | errata | – |
| medium | media | – |
| memorandum | memoranda | memorandums |
| ovum | ova | – |
| stratum | strata | – |
| symposium | symposia | symposiums |
e. Plurals that change ‘ex’ to ices or ‘s’
Nouns ending in ex or ix get ices or get the s of the English plural:
| Singular | Foreign plural | English plural |
|---|---|---|
| apex | apices | apexes |
| appendix | appendices | appendixes |
| cervix | cervices | cervixes |
| index | indices | indexes |
| matrix | matrices | matrixes |
| vortex | vortices | – |
f. Plurals that change ‘is’ to ‘es’
Nouns ending in is becoming es in plural:
| Singular | Plural form |
|---|---|
| analysis | analyses |
| axis | axes |
| basis | bases |
| crisis | crises |
| diagnosis | diagnoses |
| emphasis | emphases |
| hypothesis | hypotheses |
| neurosis | neuroses |
| oasis | oases |
| parenthesis | parentheses |
| synopsis | synopses |
| thesis | theses |
g. Plurals that change ‘on’ to ‘a’
Nouns ending in -on becoming -a:
| singular | plural |
|---|---|
| criterion | criteria |
| phenomenon | phenomena |
| automaton | automata |
3. Nouns That Are Always Singular:
A handful of nouns appear to be plural in form but take a singular verb:
- The news is bad.
- Gymnastics is fun to watch.
- Economics/mathematics/statistics is said to be difficult.
Some nouns never take the s of the plural and are always singular:
- Your luggage/baggage is so heavy
- I’d like to buy new furniture for the house
- You can find more information on our website.
More on plural nouns in English here.
Conclusion
Mastering plural nouns is an essential skill for English language learners. While regular plurals generally adhere to the “add -s” rule, irregular plurals and exceptions add nuances to the learning process. By understanding these rules and exceptions, learners can confidently navigate the intricacies of pluralization in English, enhancing their overall language proficiency.
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