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 |