Plural Nouns

When you refer to more than one noun, you use the plural form of that noun. The plural of a noun is usually formed by adding an 's' at the end of the word. For example: the plural of cat is cats; the plural of flower is flowers, and the plural of computer is computers. If the word ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh, the plural is usually formed by adding 'es.' This is because when you add an 's' to the end of these words, you have to add an extra syllable to the the word in order to prounounce it. For example: the plural of boss is bosses, the plural of box is boxes, the plural of buzz is buzzes, the plural of lunch is lunches, and the plural of brush is brushes. Not all plurals end in 's' or 'es'. Irregular nouns are those that do not use the regular plural ending. The following are some irregular plurals.
Rule for Forming the Plural

Type of Noun

Examples

Exceptions

Word ends in s, x, ch, or sh

Word ends in z Ending in 'y' preceded by a vowel Ending in 'y' preceded by a consonant

arch/arches, atlas/atlases, ax/axes, bash/bashes, bench/benches, bias/biases, botch/botches, box/boxes, brush/brushes, bunch/bunches, bus/buses, bush/bushes, canvas/canvases, catch/catches, church/churches, class/classes, compass/compasses, crash/crashes, cross/crosses, dais/daises, dish/dishes, dress/dresses, equinox/equinoxes, etch/etches, fetch/fetches, fix/fixes, Add 'es' to the fox/foxes, gas/gases, grass/grasses, itch/itches, kiss/kisses, end larch/larches, lash/lashes, latch/latches, mantis/mantises, march/marches, marsh/marshes, mash/mashes, mass/masses, match/matches, moss/mosses, mix/mixes, pass/passes, patch/patches, pox/poxes, radish/radishes, sash/sashes, sketch/sketches, starch/starches, stitch/stitches, tax/taxes, touch/touches, trash/trashes, twitch/twitches, vehicle/vehicles, wish/wishes, witch/witches, wrench/wrenches Add 'zes' to the buzz/buzzes, fizz/fizzes, klutz/klutzes, quiz/quizzes, end topaz/topazes, waltz/waltzes alley/alleys, attorney/attorneys, essay/essays, boy/boys, delay/delays, guy/guys, jay/jays, key/keys, osprey/ospreys, Add an 's' play/plays, ray/rays, stray/strays, toy/toys, tray/trays, turkey/turkeys, valley/valleys, way/ways ally/allies, army/armies, baby/babies, beauty/beauties, Change the final berry/berries, cherry/cherries, city/cities, colony/colonies, 'y' to 'ies' country/countries, dictionary/dictionaries, duty/duties, enemy/enemies, fairy/fairies, family/families, ferry/ferries,

axis/axes, ox/oxen

Ends with 'f' or 'fe' (but not 'ff' or 'ffe')

Ends with 'o'

Irregular Ends with 'is' (from a Greek root) Ends with 'us' (if the word is from the Latin) Ends with 'um'

fly/flies, gallery/galleries, history/histories, injury/injuries, jelly/jellies, kitty/kitties, lady/ladies, lily/lilies, navy/navies, history/histories, party/parties, pony/ponies, reply/replies, secretary/secretaries, sky/skies, spy/spies, story/stories, study/studies, symphony/symphonies, theory/theories, trophy/trophies, try/tries, university/universities, variety/varieties, victory/victories calf/calves, elf/elves, half/halves, hoof/hooves, knife/knives, belief/beliefs, chef/chefs, chief/chiefs, dwarf/dwarfs, Change the 'f' or leaf/leaves, life/lives, loaf/loaves, knife/knives, loaf/loaves, grief/griefs, gulf/gulfs, handkerchief/handkerchiefs, 'fe' to 'ves' scarf/scarves, self/selves, shelf/shelves, wife/wives, kerchief/kerchiefs, mischief/mischiefs, muff/muffs, oaf/oafs, wolf/wolves proof/proofs, roof/roofs, safe/safes, turf/turfs albino/albinos, armadillo/armadillos, auto/autos, cameo/cameos, cello/cellos, combo/combos, duo/duos, buffalo/buffaloes, cargo/cargoes, echo/echoes, ego/egos, folio/folios, halo/halos, inferno/infernos, embargo/embargoes, grotto/grottoes, hero/heroes, lasso/lassos, memento/mementos, memo/memos, Add 'es' mosquito/mosquitoes, motto/mottoes, potato/potatoes, piano/pianos, photo/photos, portfolio/portfolios, pro/pros, tomato/tomatoes, torpedo/torpedoes, veto/vetoes, silo/silos, solo/solos, stereo/stereos, studio/studios, volcano/volcanoes, zero/zeroes taco/tacos, tattoo/tattoos, tuxedo/tuxedos, typo/typos, veto/vetoes, video/videos, yo/yos, zoo/zoos child/children, die/dice, foot/feet, goose/geese, louse/lice, Variable man/men, mouse/mice, ox/oxen, person/people, that/those, this/these, tooth/teeth, woman/women analysis/analyses, axis/axes, basis/bases, crisis/crises, Change final 'is' ellipsis/ellipses, hypotheses/hypothesis, neurosis/neuroses, to 'es' oasis/oases, paralysis/paralyses, parenthesis/parentheses, synopsis/synopses, synthesis/syntheses, thesis/theses alumnus/alumni, bacillus/bacilli, cactus/cacti, focus/foci, abacus/abacuses, crocus/crocuses, genus/genera, Change final fungus/fungi, locus/loci, nucleus/nuclei, radius/radii, octopus/octopuses (not octopi, since octopus is from the 'us' to 'i' stimulus/stimuli, syllabus/syllabi, terminus/termini, torus/tori Greek language), rhombus/rhombuses, walrus/walruses bacterium/bacteria, curriculum/curricula, datum/data, Change final erratum/errata, gymnasium/gymnasia, medium/media, album/albums, stadium/stadiums 'um' to 'a' memorandum/memoranda, ovum/ova, stratum/strata alga/algae, alumna/alumnae, antenna/antennae, larva/larvae, nebula/nebulae, pupa/pupae (or pupas), vertebra/vertebrae, vita/vitae automaton/automata, criterion/criteria, phenomenon/phenomena, polyhedron/polyhedra vertex/vertices, vortex/vortices agenda/agendas, alfalfa/alfalfas, aurora/auroras, banana/bananas, barracuda/barracudas, cornea/corneas, nova/novas, phobia/phobias

Ends with 'a' but not 'ia' Change final 'a' (from a Latin to 'ae' root) Ends with 'on' (from a Greek Change final root -- not 'on' to 'a' 'tion') Change final Ends with 'ex' 'ex' to 'ices'

balloon/balloons, carton/cartons and many, many others annex/annexes, complex/complexes, duplex/duplexes, hex/hexes, index/indexes or indices

advice, aircraft, bison, corn, deer, equipment , evidence, fish (sometimes), gold, information, jewelry, kin, legislation, Unchanging luck, luggage, moose, music, offspring, sheep, silver, swine, trousers, trout, wheat barracks, bellows, cattle, congratulations, deer, dregs, eyeglasses, gallows, headquarters, mathematics, means, Only the plural Unchanging measles, mumps, news, oats, pants, pliers, pajamas, exists scissors, series, shears, shorts, species, tongs, tweezers, vespers attorney general/attorneys general, bill of fare/bills of fare, chief of staff/chiefs of staff, court-martial/courts-martial, daughter-in-law/daughters-in-law, father-in-law/fathers-inlaw, full moon/full moons, he-man/he-men, The plural journeyman/journeymen, lady-in-waiting/ladies-in-waiting, Compound ending is lieutenant colonel/lieutenant colonels, maid-of-honor, nouns usually added to maids-of-honor, master-at-arms/masters-at-arms, middle the main noun class/middle classes, mother-in-law/mothers-in-law, post office/post offices, secretary of state/secretaries of state, sergeant major/sergeants major, son-in-law/sons-in-law, passer-by/passers-by, she-wolf/she-wolves, stepsister/stepsisters, ten-year-old/ten-year-olds Singular and plural are the same

Note: Collective nouns are words for a group of items or beings. For example, a group of cows is called a herd, a group of baseball players is called a team, and a group of ants is called a colony. For some collective nouns for groups of animals, click here.