PLURAL OF NOUNS

A) The plural of nouns is generally formed by adding "S" to the

singular.
SINGULAR

PLURAL

book

books

girl

girls

hand

hands

table

tables

B) Add "ES" to nouns ending in ch,s,sh,ss,x and z.

SINGULAR

PLURAL

church

churches

bus
brush
kiss
box
buzz

buses
brushes
kisses
boxes
buzzes

Exceptions:
SINGULAR

PLURAL

ox

oxen

Add "S" to nouns ending in ch which have the sound of k.

SINGULAR
epoch

PLURAL
epochs

monarch

monarchs

stomach

stomachs

C) Nouns ending in "y" preceded by a consonant change the "y" into

"IES", but if the "y" is preceded by a vowel, only "S" is added.
SINGULAR

PLURAL

lady

ladies

country

countries

boy

boys

day

days

D) Most nouns ending in "o" preceded by a consonant take "ES" in

the plural.
SINGULAR

PLURAL

echo

echoes

hero

heroes

potato

potatoes

SINGULAR

PLURAL

dynamo

dynamos

halo

halos

photo

photos

piano

pianos

solo

solos

Exceptions:

E) All nouns ending in "o" preceded by a vowel take "S" in the

plural.
SINGULAR

PLURAL

cuckoo

cuckoos

portfolio

portfolios

F) Nouns ending in "f" or "fe" drop the "f" or "fe" and add "VES".
SINGULAR

PLURAL

calf

calves

half

halves

knife

knives

leaf

leaves

life

lives

loaf

loaves

self

selves

sheaf

sheaves

shelf

shelves

thief

thieves

wife
wolf

wives
wolves

Exceptions:
SINGULAR

PLURAL

cliff

cliffs

handkerchief

handkerchiefs

roof

roofs

G) Nouns which retain their original Greek or Latin forms make

their plurals according to the rules of Greek or Latin.
SINGULAR

PLURAL

alumnus

alumni

crisis

crises

datum

data

erratum

errata

oasis

oases

phenomenon

phenomena

stimulus

stimuli

terminus

termini

H) Irregular Plurals
SINGULAR

PLURAL

child

children

die

dice

foot

feet

goose

geese

louse

lice

man

men

mouse

mice

tooth

teeth

woman

women

I) Compound Nouns
1. Normally, the last word is made plural in compound nouns.
SINGULAR

PLURAL

armchair

armchairs

bookcase

bookcases

mailman

mailmen

2. Where man or woman come first, both parts are made plural.
SINGULAR

PLURAL

manservant

menservants

woman-teacher

women-teachers

3. Compound nouns formed with prepositions or adverbs make only

the first word plural.
SINGULAR

PLURAL

looker-on

lookers-on

sister-in-law

sisters-in-law

4. Compounds finishing in "ful" take "S".

SINGULAR

PLURAL

handful

handfuls

spoonful

spoonfuls

J) Some nouns in English are used only in the singular form and so
the verb remains in singular.
accommodation
advice
furniture
information
knowledge
news
progress
K) Some nouns have the same form for both plural and singular.
deer
fish
series
sheep
species

L) The names of many sciences ending in "ics" are singular. The

verb remains in the singular form.
Ethics

Mathematics (Math)

Phonetics

Physics

Statistics

Genetics

M) The following nouns are always plural and are followed by verbs
in the plural:
alms

bowels

contents

customs

fireworks

goods

pants

scissors

shears

spectacles

stairs

thanks

trousers

wages

wares

IMPORTANT REMARKS:
The plural forms "hundreds", "dozens", "thousands", etc. are used
if some indefinite number is implied, as:
Hundreds of miles
Dozens of eggs
Thousands of buildings
But they remain uninflected after numerals, as:
Five hundred miles
Three dozen eggs
Four thousand buildings
Note also that is this case the preposition of is placed after
"hundreds", "dozens", "thousands", etc. A definite number is never
followed by of.