{"id":148548,"date":"2023-06-20T17:11:19","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T21:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/plural-nouns\/"},"modified":"2025-02-22T02:24:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T07:24:07","slug":"plural-nouns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/plural-nouns\/","title":{"rendered":"Plural Nouns in English: Simple Guide with Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"

English plural nouns can seem challenging for learners. But this guide makes it easier to turn any singular<\/strong> (one) noun into a plural<\/strong> (more than one) noun.<\/p>\n

Discover the eight rules for making nouns plural in English below. I’ve also included common examples of nouns for each rule and the different kinds of irregular plural nouns.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How Do Plurals Work in English?<\/h2>\n

The difference between the singular and plural forms of a noun is reflected in spelling. The most basic way to make an English noun<\/a> plural is by adding -s<\/em>, but as you’ll see below,\u00a0there are a number of spelling rules to follow to make a noun plural and also many exceptions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regular Plural Nouns<\/h2>\n

The majority of English nouns are regular, which means they all follow the same format for their plural forms. Here are the rules for dealing with regular nouns:<\/p>\n

Add -s<\/em> to most regular nouns<\/h3>\n

For most regular English nouns, you simply add the letter -s<\/em> to the noun.<\/p>\n

It’s easy, but remember that another form looks very similar, and that’s the possessive form: “a dog’s bowl,” which means the bowl belongs to the dog. So watch out for that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are a few common examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Singular form<\/b><\/th>Plural form<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
dog<\/td>dogs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
car<\/td>cars<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
apple<\/td>apples<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
mouth<\/td>mouths<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
photograph<\/td>photographs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
photo<\/td>photos<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
taco<\/td>tacos<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
piano<\/td>pianos<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
boy<\/td>boys<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
roof<\/td>roofs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
giraffe<\/td>giraffes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
lemon<\/td>lemons<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
canyon<\/td>canyons<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
salon<\/td>salons<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Add -es<\/em> to nouns ending in -o<\/em>,\u00a0-s<\/em>, -x<\/em>, -z<\/em>, -sh<\/em> or -ch<\/em><\/h3>\n

When the noun ends with -s<\/em>, -x<\/em>, -z<\/em>, -sh<\/em> or -ch<\/em><\/strong>, simply add -es<\/em> after the noun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Singular form<\/b><\/th>Plural form<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
bus<\/td>buses<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
box<\/td>boxes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
buzz<\/td>buzzes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
wish<\/td>wishes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
watch<\/td>watches<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
clash<\/td>clashes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

For most nouns ending with the letter -o<\/em><\/strong>, you have to add -es<\/em> after the noun instead of -s<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Singular form<\/b><\/th>Plural form<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
potato<\/td>potatoes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
tomato<\/td>tomatoes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
hero<\/td>heroes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
cargo<\/td>cargoes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Add -s\u00a0<\/em>to nouns that end with vowel + y<\/em><\/h3>\n

If a vowel comes before the letter -y<\/em>, then it’s easy. You simply add -s<\/em> after the noun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Singular form<\/b><\/th>Plural form<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
journey<\/td>journeys<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
day<\/td>days<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
way<\/td>ways<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
monkey<\/td>monkeys<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
toy<\/td>toys<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
guy<\/td>guys<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Change the ending to -es<\/em> for nouns ending in -is<\/em><\/h3>\n

For nouns ending in -is<\/em> , drop the -is<\/em> and then add -es<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Let’s look at some common examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Singular form<\/b><\/th>Plural form<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
axis<\/td>axes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
oasis<\/td>oases<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
crisis<\/td>crises<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Change the ending to -ves<\/em> for nouns ending in -f<\/em> or -fe<\/em><\/h3>\n

For some nouns ending with -f<\/em> or -fe<\/em>, you change the F to V and then add -es.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here are a few common examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Singular form<\/b><\/th>Plural form<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
elf<\/td>elves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
calf<\/td>calves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
leaf<\/td>leaves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
knife<\/td>knives<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
scarf<\/td>scarves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
thief <\/td>thieves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
wife<\/td>wives<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Change the ending to -ies<\/em> for nouns ending in consonant + y<\/em><\/h3>\n

For nouns ending with a consonant + y<\/em>, the general rule is to drop the -y<\/em> and add -ies<\/em> after the noun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Singular form<\/b><\/th>Plural form<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
fairy<\/td>fairies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
candy<\/td>candies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sky<\/td>skies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
library<\/td>libraries<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
memory<\/td>memories<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Change the ending to -i<\/em> for nouns ending in -us<\/em><\/h3>\n

For nouns ending in -us<\/em>, drop -us and add -i at the end of the word.<\/p>\n

A few common examples are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Singular form<\/b><\/th>Plural form<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
cactus<\/td>cacti<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fungus<\/td>fungi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
stimulus<\/td>stimuli<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Change the ending to\u00a0-a<\/em> for certain nouns ending in -on<\/em><\/h3>\n

You probably won’t encounter this class of nouns very often, but it’s still important to know where you might need to use these words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t
Singular form<\/b><\/th>Plural form<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
criterion<\/td>criteria<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
phenomenon<\/td>phenomena<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Irregular Plural Nouns<\/h2>\n

If you’ve been an English learner for some time, you know there’ll always be special cases that don’t fit into any fixed formats or follow any rules. They are irregular, which means different.<\/p>\n

Common Irregular Nouns to Memorize<\/h3>\n

They do things differently from everyone else and that’s what makes them so interesting<\/a>. They don’t follow the standard rules and have to be memorized.<\/p>\n

Let’s look at some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Singular form<\/b><\/th>Plural form<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
child<\/td>children (not \"childs\")<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
mouse<\/td>mice (not \"mouses\")<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
man<\/td>men (not \"mans\")<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
woman<\/td>women (not \"womans\")<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ox<\/td>oxen (not \"oxes\")<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
die<\/td>dice (not \"dies\")<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Nouns with the same plural and singular forms<\/h3>\n

Talk about easy! There are some words that are exactly the same in their singular and plural forms.<\/p>\n

Some common examples are below. You might notice that a lot of these words have to do with biology or animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Singular form<\/b><\/th>Plural form<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
sheep<\/td>sheep<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
deer<\/td>deer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fish<\/td>fish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
species<\/td>species<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
cattle<\/td>cattle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fruit<\/td>fruit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Nouns that don’t change<\/h3>\n

Then there are some nouns that have no singular forms or no plural form. Because of this, you only have to learn the one form.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is especially true with what’s called\u00a0mass nouns<\/em>. They have no distinct plural forms. Typically, they refer to nouns that often come in groups, or nouns that are somewhat abstract.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Singular form<\/b><\/th>Plural form<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
-<\/td>pants<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
-<\/td>scissors<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
-<\/td>jeans<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
-<\/td>shorts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
livestock<\/td>-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
news<\/td>-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
slang<\/td>-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
bravery<\/td>-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
love<\/td>-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
money<\/td>-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

So now, I hope you have a clearer picture of how to make nouns plural in English.<\/p>\n

Outside of this list, try to listen to how native speakers use these in their speech. If you don\u2019t have natives around you, find a language exchange partner, or start watching English-language movies<\/a> and TV shows<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Or you could try a virtual immersion program like FluentU<\/a>.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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