If the singular ends in -e, just spell it with -s:
grudge → ✅ grudges[grudge·iz]
❌ grudgees
garage → ✅ garages [garage·iz]
❌ garadgees
English Articles
How to form plural nouns in English?
By: Erin Kuester Wed Oct 02 2024
EnglishNouns
A plural noun is a nounNo definition set for nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. that refers to more than one thing. Plural nouns are different from singular nouns, which refer to exactly one thing.
 |
dog (singular) |
 |
dogs (plural) |
In English, we also sometimes use the plural form of a noun to talk about a noun in general (ex: I love dogs), so it is important to learn how to form plural nouns correctly.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the basic guidelines for spelling and pronouncing regular plural nouns in English. We’ll also examine some irregular plural nouns. Ready to start? Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
How to create regular plural nouns in English?
A regular noun can be made into a plural by adding the plural -s to the end of the noun. We can add -s to most nouns. Let’s take a look at this desk:
Let's pluralise the objects in the scene by adding -s.
cup → cups
book → books
pen → pens
flower → flowers
But there are also plural nouns that end in -es or have other spelling and pronunciation exceptions. Let’s have a look!
When to add a syllable to a plural noun?
When a singular noun ends in -s or in another “hissy” sound, we need to add an extra syllableNo definition set for syllableLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. when we form the plural, so that you can hear the plural -s.
glass → ✅ [glass·iz]
❌ [glasss]
bush → ✅ [bush·iz]
❌ [bushs]
quiz → ✅ [quiz·iz]
❌ [quizs]
To separate the “hissy” sound of the plural -s from the “hissy” sound of the singular, we add a neutral vowel sound before we can add the plural -s. Words that end in this “hissy” sound are often spelled with the following endings: -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z, -ge, -dge.
Let’s take a look at a few examples.
Ending | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
-s | plus | [plus·iz]→ plusses |
-ss | glass | [glass·iz]→ glasses |
-sh | dish | [dish·iz]→dishes |
-ch | watch | [watch·iz]→ watches |
-x | fox | [fox·iz]→ foxes |
-z | quiz | [quiz·iz]→ quizzes |
-ge | garage | [garage·iz]→ garages |
-dge | grudge | [grudge·iz]→ grudges |
Do you notice that the plurals above are not just spelled with an -s? Let’s have a look at some of the spelling rules that apply to most regular nouns!
How to spell regular plural nouns?
Usually, we just spell regular plural nouns by adding the letter -s to the end of the singular noun, like we saw above. But there are some cases where we add -es instead!
When there is an extra syllable
If we need to add an extra syllable to make the plural form, we spell the plural ending -es, because there is an extra vowel:
✅ glass → glasses
✅ bush → bushes
✅ quiz → quizzes
If a singular noun ends in one -s or one -z, we usually write the plurals with double letters, -sses or -zzes.
✅ plus → plusses
✅ quiz → quizzes
Exception!
When the singular noun ends in ‘-y’
If a noun ends in -y, follow these rules:
If the noun ends in a consonant + y, we remove the -y and add -ies.
baby → babies
city → cities
If the noun ends in a vowel + y, we simply add -s.
boy → boys
turkey → turkeys
When the singular noun ends in ‘-o’
When a singular noun ends in -o, we sometimes spell the with just an -s, and we sometimes spell it as -es. The pronunciation is the same either way. Plural nouns that end in -oes do not have an extra syllable, this is just a spelling rule.
Plurals that ONLY end in -oes (this is the complete list!) | Plurals that end in -oes OR -os | Plurals that ONLY end with -os |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Tip
To keep things easy, memorize the list nouns that are always spelled with -oes and spell all other -o nouns with a simple -os.
There is one group of nouns where even more changes occur: those that end in -f or -fe. Read on to learn more!
How to form the plurals of nouns that end in ‘-f’ or ‘-fe’
For most nouns that end in -f or -fe, we just add the plural -s.
belief → beliefs
giraffe → giraffes
However, there is a short list of very common nouns that end in -f or -fe that change more in the plural. In these nouns, we still add the plural -s, but we also change the ending of the noun to -ves.
Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
leaf | leaves |
wife | wives |
knife | knives |
roof | rooves / roofs |
hoof | hooves / hoofs |
loaf | loaves |
wolf | wolves |
calf | calves / calfs |
thief | thieves |
half | halves |
life | lives |
shelf | shelves |
dwarf | dwarves / dwarfs |
wharf | wharves / wharfs |
elf | elves |
Notice that some of these nouns can either use a -ves plural or regular plural with just -s. The plural depends on dialect!
Here are the three rules to follow for -ves plural nouns:
The -f or -fe of the singular form becomes -ves in the plural.
leaf → leaves
knife → knives
The f sound in the singular also changes to a v sound.
leaf → leaves
leef → leevz
If the singular form has a short i, a short a, or a short o sound, the vowel becomes long in the plural.
knife[nife] → knives[naivz]
(an old-fashioned plural)
roof[ruf] → rooves[roovz]
(only in some dialects)
staff[staf]→ staves[steivz]
Tip
Because the vowel sometimes changes some books call -ves plural nouns irregular nouns.
For the full list of every noun in this group, with notes to help you practice them, have a look at our English -ves plurals table.
So far we’ve looked at how to form regular plural nouns using pronunciation and spelling. Regular nouns are easy — they are like good students who follow the rules! But not all plural nouns in English are regular; some of them are irregular and follow their own rules for creating plurals. Now let’s take a look at irregular plural nouns!
What are irregular plural nouns in English?
Irregular plural nouns are nouns that don’t follow the rules for regular plural nouns.
There are a few different patterns of irregular plural nouns, but in the end, you will have to memorize all of them.
Tip
It may seem like a lot of work to learn all the irregular plural nouns in English, but the good news is that if you make a mistake and use a regular plural instead, native English speakers will still understand what you mean!
Let’s talk about a few of the different patterns of irregular plural nouns in English.
Nouns where the singular and plural are the same
For some nouns, like fish or deer, the singular and plural are the same.
one fish → three fish
one deer → three deer
Most nouns where the singular and the plural forms are the same are nouns for animals that people hunt, especially types of deer and sea creatures that swim. Here are some of the most common nouns that are the same in the singular and the plural.
fish → fish
→ also: goldfish, jellyfish, salmon, trout, shrimp, squid ...deer → deer
→ also: elk, moose, caribou, reindeersheep → sheep
bison → bison
→ also: buffaloquail → quail
→ also: grouse, snipe
In addition, any word that ends in -craft (ex: aircraft, spacecraft, ...) is the same in the singular and in the plural.
If you want to learn all the nouns in English that are the same in the singular and in the plural, check out our master list of English nouns that are the same in the singular and plural. We’ve given you some notes there that can help you practice!
Important
Some unit words and counting words, like hundred, million, or dozen, only become plural when you use them without a number or a quantity word. For example:
quantitysingularplural
I saw one million birds.
I saw three million birds.
I saw several million birds.
I saw millions of birds.
However, these are regular plural nouns, the plural form is just not always used. To learn more, check out our posts on forming English numbers and using numbers in English.
Nouns where only the vowel changes in the plural
In some English nouns, the plural is formed just by changing the vowel. This mostly happens in very common English nouns that are also very old words.
Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
foot | feet |
man | men |
woman | women |
goose | geese |
mouse | mice |
tooth | teeth |
louse | lice |
When the words in this list are used at the end of a compound noun, these compound nouns also follow the patterns above:
policeman → policemen
policeman → policemen
woodlouse → woodlice
Nouns with a plural ending in ‘-en’
Three English irregular plural nouns end in -en. A long time ago, many nouns used to end this way, but now we have only three.
Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
child | children |
ox | oxen |
brother | brothers (common) brethren (rare) |
Nouns that use the plural form from another language
A lot of English words come from other languages, like Greek, Latin, Italian, French, German, Spanish, and more. We call these “borrowed” words. Borrowed words will sometimes use the plural from the language that we borrowed them from.
Here are some of the common patterns for nouns that take their plural form from another language. Remember that though some foreign nouns follow these patterns, others are just regular plural nouns:
Latin nouns that end in -us change to -i[ai] or sometimes -era in the plural.
syllabus → syllabi
radius → radii
genus → genera
Latin nouns that end in -a change to -ae[ay] in the plural.
alumna → alumnae
formula → formulae
Latin nouns that end in -ix or -ex change to -ices[iseez] in the plural.
matrix → matrices
vortex → vortices
Latin nouns that end in -um change to -a in the plural.
datum → data
→ Though officially data is a count noun, with a plural form, most English speakers use it as a mass noun.minimum → minima
Latin nouns that end in -is change to -es[eez] in the plural.
thesis → theses
axis → axes
Greek nouns that end in -on change to -a in the plural.
criterion → criteria
→ Some English speakers use criteria as a mass noun.automaton → automata
French nouns that end in -au change to -aux[oh] in the plural. These plurals are either pronounced just like the singular or just like a regular plural noun, but they are spelled the same as they are in French.
château → châteaux
beau → beaux
Nouns borrowed from other languages will usually be regular nouns in English (ex: canoe → canoes, avacado → avocados, or raccoon → raccoons), but occasionally we will use the same form of the word in the singular and the plural (ex: samurai → samurai).
Are there any nouns we use in English that are borrowed from your language? How do we create plurals of those nouns?
Tip
Words that are plural in another language are sometimes treated as singular nouns in English…
Italian:panini(sandwiches, plural) becomes...
English: panini(grilled sandwich, singular) → paninis(grilled sandwich, plural)
Other words that are singular nouns in another language act like plural nouns in English.
Latin: biceps (arm muscle, singular) becomes...
English: bicep → biceps
English speakers who are being very correct may tell you that these pairs are wrong, but you will probably still hear them!
Nouns where the singular and plural are very different
There are a few nouns where the singular and plural are very different from each other, and you will just have to memorize them. But there are only a few English nouns that are like these.
person → people
die → dice
penny → pence
(in British coins)
Summary
In this article we talked about how to create plural nouns in English, including:
For regular plural nouns, just add the plural ending -s.
The plural ending is spelled -ies on words that end in -y.
The plural ending is spelled -es for some words that end in -o and in words where you need to add a syllable.
In some nouns that end in -f or -fe, it’s spelled -ves.
Irregular plural nouns form their plural some other way!
For some irregular nouns, the singular and plural are the same.
For some irregular nouns, the vowel changes in the plural.
Three irregular nouns use the plural ending -en.
Many borrowed nouns use the plural form from their original language.
Wow, who knew there was so much to learn about plural nouns!
If you want to review everything we’ve covered, check out this handy English plural noun master sheet, which will give you all the rules for spelling regular nouns and forming irregular nouns in one place!
Or, if you’re feeling ready, test your skills with these English plural noun activities!
