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 S, SH, CH, X or Z*, we add -ES to the noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| kiss | kisses |
| wish | wishes |
| match | matches |
| fox | foxes |
| quiz | quizzes* |
- I have a box in my bedroom.
- I have three boxes in my bedroom.
* With words that end in Z sometimes we add an extra Z to the plural form of the word (such as with the plural of quiz).
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 |
Some exceptions: roof - roofs, cliff - cliffs, chief - chiefs, belief - beliefs, chef - chefs
5. If the noun ends in a CONSONANT + O, we normally add -ES to the noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| tomato | tomatoes |
| potato | potatoes |
| echo | echoes |
| hero | heroes |
Some exceptions: piano - pianos, halo - halos, photo - photos
NOTE: Volcano has two correct forms of plural. Both volcanos and volcanoes are accepted.
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.
Summary Chart
The following is a summary chart of basic plural noun rules:
The next rules are a lot more advanced and even native speakers have difficulty with these. Unless you are an advanced student, I wouldn't recommend learning them just now.
8. If the noun ends in IS, we change it to ES. Words that end in IS usually have a Greek root.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| analysis | analyses |
| basis | bases |
| crisis | crises |
9. If the noun ends in US, we change it to I. Words that end in US usually have a Latin root.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| cactus | cacti |
| fungus | fungi |
| stimulus | stimuli |
| syllabus | syllabi |
Some exceptions: octupus - octupuses (because it is from Greek, not Latin), walrus - walruses
Plural Nouns Quiz
Do you know the plural form of these words? Can you get 20 out of 20 correct?
Next activity
See our other lesson about Regular and Irregular Plural Nouns (on Woodward English)
Pronunciation Rules:
You might be interested in the Pronunciation of -S at the end of words in English.
Grammar Games:
Try our interactive games to practice plural nouns (both regular and irregular): Plural Nouns
Similar Topics:
See our notes about Types of Nouns and Countable vs Uncountable Nouns
Parent / English Teacher Resource
Los sustantivos plurales en inglés explicado en español
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