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 many words that become plural with the simple addition of an "s" or "es" (books, apples, houses, tables, doors, cats, bushes, bosses).

However, certain nouns have irregular plurals which do not behave in this standard way and, even though most irregular plurals follow a pattern, there are always exceptions to watch out for.

Regular Plurals:

The general rule for making a noun plural is that if the word ends in s, x, z, ch or sh, add an "es"

Bless = blessesBox = boxesCatch = catchesDish = dishesBuzz = buzzes.

An exception to this rule is if the ch ending is pronounced with a "k" sound you add "s" rather than "es"

stomach = stomachs.

If the word ends in a consonant (all letters except a, e, i, o, u) plus "y," then change the "y" to an "i" and add the letters "es".

Baby = babiesCandy = candies.

For all other non-irregular nouns, simply add an "s" to the end of the word

Cat = catsDog = dogs.

Irregular Plurals:

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.

Non-Count Nouns:

Non-count nouns, also called collective nouns, have no plural form because they are assumed to be plural. Most abstract nounsare non-count nouns. Some examples are:

HairGrassMudDress (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 hairThere are several varieties of grassThere are three different kinds of mudThe 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:

Deer is "deer" whether singular or pluralFish is "fish" whether singular or pluralBison is "bison" whether singular or pluralMoose is "moose" whether singular or pluralElk 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 most nouns that end in "f" or "fe," you drop the "f" or "fe" and add "ves"

Knife = knivesWife = wivesHalf = halvesLoaf = loaves.

For many words that end in "us," change the "us" to an "i" (especially if it comes from a Latin word). There are exceptions to this rule and it is becoming more acceptable to add "es" instead of changing to "i."

Cactus = cactiFungus = fungiSyllabus = syllabi.

For nouns that end in "o" you add either "s" or "es". (Generally, most nouns ending in "o" just add "s" to make the plural,especially if there's a vowel before the final "o").

Zoo = zoosStudio = studiosTomato = tomatoesPotato = potatoesSome words ending in "o" can be spelled either wayBanjo = banjos or banjoesFlamingo = flamingos or flamingoes.

For many words that end in "is," change the "is" to an "es"

hypothesis = hypothesesoasis = oasescrisis = crises.

Nouns that end in "um" often become plural by changing "um" to "a"

bacterium = bacteriamedium = mediacurriculum = curricula.

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 menFoot to feetTooth to teethGoose to geese.