A plural noun is the form of a noun used to show there are more than one.
Countable nouns are for things we can count using numbers
- If the singular noun ends in s, sh, ch, x, and z we add es to it to form a plural
Dress – dresses Dish – dishes
Church – churches Box – boxes
Blaze – brazes Axe – axes
- If the singular nouns ends in f or fe the plural is formed by changing the f or fe to v and then adding es or by dropping f or fe and then adding ves.
e.g. Calf – calves
Self – selves
Knife – knives
Wife – wives
Thief – thieves
Exceptions:
roof – roofs
belief – beliefs
chef – chefs
chief – chiefs
- There are seven nouns in English which form their plural by changing their inside vowel sound.
e.g Singular Plural
man – men
woman – women
tooth – teeth
foot – feet
mouse – mice
louse – lice
goose – geese
- If the singular noun ends in ‑o, add ‑es to make it plural.
potato – potatoes
tomato – tomatoes
Exceptions:
photo – photos
piano – pianos
halo – halos
With the unique word volcano, you can apply the standard pluralization for words that end in -o or not. It’s your choice! Both of the following are correct:
volcanoes
volcanos
- If a singular noun ends in ‑y and the letter before the -y is a consonant, change the ending to ‑ies to make the noun plural.
e.g city – cities
puppy – puppies
- If the singular noun ends in -y and the letter before the -y is a vowel, simply add an -s to make it
e.g ray – rays
boy – boys
- If the singular noun ends in ‑us, the plural ending is frequently ‑
E.g cactus – cacti
focus – foci
- If the singular noun ends in ‑is, the plural ending is ‑es.
e.g analysis – analyses
ellipsis – ellipses
- If the singular noun ends in ‑on, the plural ending is ‑
e.g phenomenon – phenomena
criterion – criteria
- Some nouns don’t change at all when they’re pluralized.
e.g sheep – sheep
series – series
species – species
deer –deer
You need to see these nouns in context to identify them as singular or plural. Consider the following sentence:
Mark caught one fish, but I caught three fish
