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 ofbookisbooks. The plural of“table”is“tables“. These areregular plurals.
But many nouns don’t follow this rule. For example, the plural of“fish”is“fish“. The plural of“tooth”is“teeth“. These areirregular 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,ors-likesounds;
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 +ytake the letters:
- More than one boy = boys
- More than one way = ways
c. Nouns that end in a consonant +y
Nouns that end in a consonant +ydrop the y and takeies:
- More than one baby = babies
- More than one lorry = lorries
d. Nouns that end ino:
1. A lot of nouns that end inotakeesin the plural form:
- More than one potato = potatoes
- More than one hero = heroes
| obecomesoes | |
|---|---|
| echo | echoes |
| embargo | embargoes |
| hero | heroes |
| potato | potatoes |
| tomato | tomatoes |
| torpedo | torpedoes |
| veto | vetoes |
2. Some nouns ending inobreak the above rule and get osin the plural form:obecomesos 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 inoget either osoroesin the plural forms:obecomes os oroes 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 inf’‘or‘fe’:
Plurals of nouns that end inforfeusually change thefsound to avsound and addsor-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 inexorixgeticesor get thesof 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 inisbecomingesin 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:
- Thenewsisbad.
- Gymnasticsisfun to watch.
- Economics/mathematics/statisticsissaid to be difficult.
Some nouns never take the s of the plural and are always singular:
- Yourluggage/baggageis so heavy
- I’d like to buy newfurniturefor the house
- You can find moreinformationon 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.
Related Pages:
- Exercise On Plurals
- Plural of Compound Nouns
- Nouns In English
- Countable and uncountable Nouns
