Plural Nouns
English Grammar Rules
In general the plural of a noun is formed by adding -S to the noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| car | cars |
| house | houses |
| book | books |
| bird | birds |
| pencil | pencils |
However:
1. When the noun ends in SS, SH, CH or X, we add -ES to the noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| kiss | kisses |
| wish | wishes |
| match | matches |
| box | boxes |
| fox | foxes |
- I have a box in my bedroom.
- I have three boxes in my bedroom.
2. When the noun ends in a VOWEL + Y, we add -S to the noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| boy | boys |
| holiday | holidays |
| key | keys |
| guy | guys |
3. When the noun ends in a CONSONANT + Y, we remove Y and add -IES to the noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| party | parties |
| lady | ladies |
| story | stories |
| nanny | nannies |
| city | cities |
4. If the noun ends in F or FE, we remove the F/FE and add -VES to the noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| life | lives |
| leaf | leaves |
| thief | thieves |
| wife | wives |
5. If the noun ends in IS, we change it to ES.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| analysis | analyses |
| basis | bases |
| crisis | crises |
6. There are a number of nouns that don't follow these rules. They are irregular and you need to learn them individually because they don't normally have an S on the end.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| man | men |
| woman | women |
| child | children |
| foot | feet |
| tooth | teeth |
| goose | geese |
| mouse | mice |
- There is a child in the park.
- There are many children in the park.
7. There are some nouns in English that are the same in the singular and the plural.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| fish | fish |
| sheep | sheep |
| deer | deer |
| moose | moose |
| aircraft | aircraft |
- I can see a sheep in the field.
- I can see ten sheep in the field.
Sometimes you will hear the word fishes (especially in songs) though it is grammatically incorrect.
Try our interactive games to practice plural nouns (both regular and irregular): Plural Nouns
NEW: Download our free Plural Nouns Worksheet (in PDF).
You can check the answers to this worksheet here: Answers to the Plural Nouns Worksheet.
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