Plural…
Plural Noun Rules
To make regular nouns plural, add
‑s to the end.
• cat – cats
• house – houses
If the singular noun ends in ‑s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x,
or -z, add ‑es to the end to make it plural.
• bus – buses
• lunch – lunches
• tax – taxes
In some cases, singular nouns ending in -s or -z, require
that you double the -s or -z prior to adding the -es for
pluralization.
• feaz – feazzes
• gas –gasses
If the noun ends with ‑f or ‑fe, the f is often changed
to ‑ve before adding the -s to form the plural version.
• wife – wives
• wolf – wolves
Exceptions:
• roof – roofs
• belief – beliefs
• chef – chefs
• chief – chiefs
If a singular noun ends in ‑y and the letter before
the -y is a consonant, change the ending to ‑ies to
make the noun plural.
• city – cities
• puppy – puppies
If the singular noun ends in -y and the letter before
the -y is a vowel, simply add an -s to make it plural.
• ray – rays
• boy – boys
If the singular noun ends in ‑o, add
‑es to make it plural.
• potato – potatoes
• tomato – tomatoes
Exceptions: Here are some of the common nouns ending
in -o that can be spelled with either -s or -es in the plural:
•Banjo - banjos or banjoes
•Flamingo - flamingos or flamingoes
•Ghetto - ghettos or ghettoes
•Halo - halos or haloes
•Tornado - tornados or tornadoes
•Tuxedo - tuxedos or tuxedoes
•Volcano - volcanos or volcanoes
If the singular noun ends in ‑us,
the plural ending is frequently ‑i.
•cactus – cacti
•focus – foci
If the singular noun ends in ‑is, the
plural ending is ‑es.
•analysis – analyses
•ellipsis – ellipses
If the singular noun ends in ‑on,
the plural ending is ‑a.
•phenomenon – phenomena
•criterion – criteria
Some nouns don’t change at all
when they’re pluralized.
• sheep – sheep
• series – series
• species – species
• deer –deer
Irregular nouns follow no specific rules, so it’s best to
memorize these or look up the proper pluralization in
the dictionary.
•child – children
•goose – geese
•man – men
•woman – women
•tooth – teeth
•foot – feet
•mouse – mice
•person – people
