Singular and Plural Nouns

 

Form the plurals of most nouns by adding –s.

Singular	tree	river	shoe	pizza	duck	convoy
Plural	trees	rivers	shoes	pizzas	ducks	convoys

Form the plurals of nouns ending in s, x, z, ch, or sh by adding –es.

Singular	glass	fox	maze	beach	bush
Plural	glasses	foxes	mazes	beaches	bushes

Note:  Proper nouns usually follow this rule, too.

the Gomezes	the Rosses	the Burches
the Walshes	the Mannixes

Form the plurals of nouns ending y preceded by a consonant by changing the y to i and adding –es.

Singular	sky	city	story	party	county
Plural	skies	cities	stories	parties	counties

Exception:  Whe proper nouns, simply add –s     Example:  the Kellys     the Kandinskys

Form the plurals of nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel by adding –s.

Singular	boy	monkey	tray	holiday	highway
Plural	boys	monkeys	trays	holidays	highways

Form the plurals of most nouns ending in f by adding –s.  The plurals of some nouns ending in f or fe are formed by changing the f to v and adding either –s or –es.

Singular	cliff	roof	thief	life	loaf
Plural	cliffs	roofs	thieves	lives	loaves

Form the plural of a compound noun consisting of a noun plus a modifier by making the modified noun plural.

Singular	sister-in-law	lemon tree	basketball
Plural	sisters-in-law	lemon trees	basketballs

Form the plurals of nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel by adding –s.  The plurals of many nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant are formed by adding –es.

Singular	stereo	patio	hero	tomato
Plural	stereos	patios	heroes	tomatoes

Exceptions:  burritos, hellos, photos, silos

Form the plurals of most musical terms ending in o by adding –s.

Singular	alto	cello	concerto	soprano
Plural	altos	cellos	concertos	sopranos

To form the plurals of some nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant, you may add either -s or -es.

Singular	mosquito	tornado	volcano
Plural	mosquitos	tornados	volcanos
or	mosquitoes	tornadoes	volcanoes

The plurals of a few nouns are formed in irregular ways.

Singular	man	goose	child	mouse	foot	deer
Plural	men	geese	children	mice	feet	deer