For most nouns, the general rule for
making the word plural is:
- If the word ends in s, x, ch or sh, add an "es" Bless + es = blesses
Box + es = boxes
catch + es = catches
Dish + es = dishes
- If the word ends in a consonant (all letters except a, e, i, o, u) + y, then change the "y" to an "i" and ad the letters "es" Baby = Babies
Candy = candies
- For all other non-irregular nouns, simply add an "s" to the end of the word Cat = cats
Dog = dogs
Kid = kids
Irregular
Plurals
The vast
majority of nouns in the English language are made plural by adding an
"s" or "es" to the end of the word. For example, book,
apple, house, table, door, cat, bush, boss are just some of the millions of
words that become plural with the simple addition of an "s" (books,
apples, houses, tables, doors, cats, bushes, bosses). However, certain nouns
have "irregular" plurals which do not behave in this standard way.
Certain
words do not follow the above rules for regular plurals. There are some common
types of irregular plurals that occur, and some words simply have no plural
form at all.
While it
is useful to memorize the common irregular plurals, for many words you simply
have to know and understand that it is an irregular plural as a result of
speaking and hearing English
Example :
Singular:
Plural:
abyss
abysses
alumnus
alumni
analysis
analyses
aquarium
aquaria
arch
arches
atlas
atlases
axe
axes
baby
babies
bacterium
bacteria
batch
batches
beach
beaches
brush
brushes
bus
buses
calf
calves
chateau
chateaux
cherry
cherries
child
children
church
churches
circus
circuses
city
cities
cod
cod
copy
copies
crisis
crises
curriculum
curricula
deer
deer
dictionary
dictionaries
domino
dominoes
dwarf
dwarves
echo
echoes
elf
elves
emphasis
emphases
family
families
fax
faxes
fish
fish
flush
flushes
fly
flies
foot
feet
fungus
fungi
half
halves
hero
heroes
hippopotamus
hippopotami
hoax
hoaxes
hoof
hooves
index
indexes
iris
irises
kiss
kisses
knife
knives
lady
ladies
leaf
leaves
life
lives
loaf
loaves
man
men
mango
mangoes
memorandum
memoranda
mess
messes
moose
moose
motto
mottoes
mouse
mice
nanny
nannies
neurosis
neuroses
Non-Count
Nouns
Non-count nouns, also called collective nouns,
have no plural form because they are assumed to be plural. Most abstract nouns are
non-count nouns. Some examples are:
- Hair
- Grass
- Mud
- Dress (when referring to a style of dress, not when referring to a clothing item that hangs in your closet)
If you are talking about multiple
varieties or types of these irregular plurals, you cannot make them plural by
adding an "s" or "es" to the end. Instead, you need
to make them plural by adding a descriptive phrase. For example:
- There are many different styles of hair
- There are several varieties of grass
- There are three different kinds of mud
- The ancient people had a few types of styles of dress
Unchanging
Nouns
Certain other nouns have the same
plural form as singular form. A large number of animals happen to follow this
rule. For example, among others:
- Deer is "deer" whether singular or plural
- Fish is "fish" whether singular or plural
- Bison is "bison" whether singular or plural
- Moose is "moose" whether singular or plural
- Elk is "elk" whether singular or plural.
Other
Irregular Plurals
In addition to non-count nouns and
unchanging nouns, there are several different types of irregular plurals which
follow a pattern in the English language.
- For words that end in "fe," you change the letter "f" to the letter "v" and then add "s"
Knife = knives
Wife = wives
- For words that end in "f" you change the "f" to a "v" and add "es"
Half = halves
Loaf = loaves
- For words that end in "us," change the "us" to an "i"
Syllabus =
syallabi
- For words that end in "o" add "es"
Tomato = tomatoes
Words
that Change Form
Certain words do not add a letter to
the end, but instead change the word itself. These words simply need to be
memorized. Some examples include:
- Man to men
- People to persons
- Tooth to teeth
- Goose to geese
The best
way to learn and understand irregular plurals is to practice speaking the
English language, to read a great deal, to pay attention to words and phrases
that you see and hear and to assemble a list of words with irregular plurals so
you can begin to understand how to make each noun plural correctly.
