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Plural Nouns

When you refer to more than one noun, you use the plural form of that noun.

The plural of a noun is usually formed by adding an 's' at the end of the word. For example: the plural of cat is cats; the plural of flower is flowers, and the plural of computer is computers.

If the word ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh, the plural is usually formed by adding 'es.' This is because when you add an 's' to the end of these words, you have to add an extra syllable to the the word in order to prounounce it. For example: the plural of boss is bosses, the plural of box is boxes, the plural of buzz is buzzes, the plural of lunch is lunches, and the plural of brush is brushes.

Not all plurals end in 's' or 'es'. Irregular nouns are those that do not use the regular plural ending. The following are some irregular plurals.

Type of Noun Rule for Forming the Plural Examples Exceptions
Word ends in s, x, ch, or sh Add 'es' to the end arch/arches, atlas/atlases, ax/axes, bash/bashes, bench/benches, bias/biases, botch/botches, box/boxes, brush/brushes, bunch/bunches, bus/buses, bush/bushes, canvas/canvases, catch/catches, church/churches, class/classes, compass/compasses, crash/crashes, cross/crosses, dais/daises, dish/dishes, dress/dresses, equinox/equinoxes, etch/etches, fetch/fetches, fix/fixes, fox/foxes, gas/gases, grass/grasses, itch/itches, kiss/kisses, larch/larches, lash/lashes, latch/latches, mantis/mantises, march/marches, marsh/marshes, mash/mashes, mass/masses, match/matches, moss/mosses, mix/mixes, pass/passes, patch/patches, pox/poxes, radish/radishes, sash/sashes, sketch/sketches, starch/starches, stitch/stitches, tax/taxes, touch/touches, trash/trashes, twitch/twitches, vehicle/vehicles, wish/wishes, witch/witches, wrench/wrenches axis/axes, ox/oxen
Word ends in z Add 'zes' to the end buzz/buzzes, fizz/fizzes, klutz/klutzes, quiz/quizzes, topaz/topazes, waltz/waltzes
Ending in 'y' preceded by a vowel Add an 's' alley/alleys, attorney/attorneys, essay/essays, boy/boys, delay/delays, guy/guys, jay/jays, key/keys, osprey/ospreys, play/plays, ray/rays, stray/strays, toy/toys, tray/trays, turkey/turkeys, valley/valleys, way/ways
Ending in 'y' preceded by a consonant Change the final 'y' to 'ies' ally/allies, army/armies, baby/babies, beauty/beauties, berry/berries, cherry/cherries, city/cities, colony/colonies, country/countries, dictionary/dictionaries, duty/duties, enemy/enemies, fairy/fairies, family/families, ferry/ferries, fly/flies, gallery/galleries, history/histories, injury/injuries, jelly/jellies, kitty/kitties, lady/ladies, lily/lilies, navy/navies, history/histories, party/parties, pony/ponies, reply/replies, secretary/secretaries, sky/skies, spy/spies, story/stories, study/studies, symphony/symphonies, theory/theories, trophy/trophies, try/tries, university/universities, variety/varieties, victory/victories
Ends with 'f' or 'fe' (but not 'ff' or 'ffe') Change the 'f' or 'fe' to 'ves' calf/calves, elf/elves, half/halves, hoof/hooves, knife/knives, leaf/leaves, life/lives, loaf/loaves, knife/knives, loaf/loaves, scarf/scarves, self/selves, shelf/shelves, wife/wives, wolf/wolves belief/beliefs, chef/chefs, chief/chiefs, dwarf/dwarfs, grief/griefs, gulf/gulfs, handkerchief/handkerchiefs, kerchief/kerchiefs, mischief/mischiefs, muff/muffs, oaf/oafs, proof/proofs, roof/roofs, safe/safes, turf/turfs
Ends with 'o' Add 'es' buffalo/buffaloes, cargo/cargoes, echo/echoes, embargo/embargoes, grotto/grottoes, hero/heroes, mosquito/mosquitoes, motto/mottoes, potato/potatoes, tomato/tomatoes, torpedo/torpedoes, veto/vetoes, volcano/volcanoes, zero/zeroes albino/albinos, armadillo/armadillos, auto/autos, cameo/cameos, cello/cellos, combo/combos, duo/duos, ego/egos, folio/folios, halo/halos, inferno/infernos, lasso/lassos, memento/mementos, memo/memos, piano/pianos, photo/photos, portfolio/portfolios, pro/pros, silo/silos, solo/solos, stereo/stereos, studio/studios, taco/tacos, tattoo/tattoos, tuxedo/tuxedos, typo/typos, veto/vetoes, video/videos, yo/yos, zoo/zoos
Irregular Variable child/children, die/dice, foot/feet, goose/geese, louse/lice, man/men, mouse/mice, ox/oxen, person/people, that/those, this/these, tooth/teeth, woman/women
Ends with 'is' (from a Greek root) Change final 'is' to 'es' analysis/analyses, axis/axes, basis/bases, crisis/crises, ellipsis/ellipses, hypotheses/hypothesis, neurosis/neuroses, oasis/oases, paralysis/paralyses, parenthesis/parentheses, synopsis/synopses, synthesis/syntheses, thesis/theses
Ends with 'us' (if the word is from the Latin) Change final 'us' to 'i' alumnus/alumni, bacillus/bacilli, cactus/cacti, focus/foci, fungus/fungi, locus/loci, nucleus/nuclei, radius/radii, stimulus/stimuli, syllabus/syllabi, terminus/termini, torus/tori abacus/abacuses, crocus/crocuses, genus/genera, octopus/octopuses (not octopi, since octopus is from the Greek language), rhombus/rhombuses, walrus/walruses
Ends with 'um' Change final 'um' to 'a' bacterium/bacteria, curriculum/curricula, datum/data, erratum/errata, gymnasium/gymnasia, medium/media, memorandum/memoranda, ovum/ova, stratum/strata album/albums, stadium/stadiums
Ends with 'a' but not 'ia' (from a Latin root) Change final 'a' to 'ae' alga/algae, alumna/alumnae, antenna/antennae, larva/larvae, nebula/nebulae, pupa/pupae (or pupas), vertebra/vertebrae, vita/vitae agenda/agendas, alfalfa/alfalfas, aurora/auroras, banana/bananas, barracuda/barracudas, cornea/corneas, nova/novas, phobia/phobias
Ends with 'on' (from a Greek root -- not 'tion') Change final 'on' to 'a' automaton/automata, criterion/criteria, phenomenon/phenomena, polyhedron/polyhedra balloon/balloons, carton/cartons and many, many others
Ends with 'ex' Change final 'ex' to 'ices' vertex/vertices, vortex/vortices annex/annexes, complex/complexes, duplex/duplexes, hex/hexes, index/indexes or indices
Unchanging Singular and plural are the same advice, aircraft, bison, corn, deer, equipment , evidence, fish (sometimes), gold, information, jewelry, kin, legislation, luck, luggage, moose, music, offspring, sheep, silver, swine, trousers, trout, wheat
Only the plural exists Unchanging barracks, bellows, cattle, congratulations, deer, dregs, eyeglasses, gallows, headquarters, mathematics, means, measles, mumps, news, oats, pants, pliers, pajamas, scissors, series, shears, shorts, species, tongs, tweezers, vespers
Compound nouns The plural ending is usually added to the main noun attorney general/attorneys general, bill of fare/bills of fare, chief of staff/chiefs of staff, court-martial/courts-martial, daughter-in-law/daughters-in-law, father-in-law/fathers-in-law, full moon/full moons, he-man/he-men, journeyman/journeymen, lady-in-waiting/ladies-in-waiting, lieutenant colonel/lieutenant colonels, maid-of-honor, maids-of-honor, master-at-arms/masters-at-arms, middle class/middle classes, mother-in-law/mothers-in-law, post office/post offices, secretary of state/secretaries of state, sergeant major/sergeants major, son-in-law/sons-in-law, passer-by/passers-by, she-wolf/she-wolves, stepsister/stepsisters, ten-year-old/ten-year-olds

Note: Collective nouns are words for a group of items or beings. For example, a group of cows is called a herd, a group of baseball players is called a team, and a group of ants is called a colony. For some collective nouns for groups of animals, click here.

Related Pages, Activities and Worksheets:
plurals

Plural Animal Nouns #1

Write plural animal nouns for dog, puppy, calf, wolf, monkey, fly, mouse, louse, sheep, and trout. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- kitten, ox, deer, goose, moose. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Animal Nouns #2

Write plural animal nouns for bird, fox, goose, moose, salmon, butterfly, pony, cattle, deer, and ox. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- guppy, donkey, canary, cod, reindeer. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Birthday-related Nouns

Write plural nouns for gift, candy, cake, candle, party, wish, friend, guest, clown, balloon. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined nouns made into plurals -- chair, present, person, bow, ribbon, gift, child. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Body-related Nouns

Write plural nouns for foot, elbow, tooth, eye, body, wrist, ankle, artery, calf, and vertebra. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined nouns made into plurals -- arm, leg, foot, knee, finger, toe, tooth. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Clothing Nouns

Write plural clothing nouns for dress, pants, coat, shirt, scarf, shorts, coat, glove, muff, and sandal. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- sock, shoe, scarf, cap, dress, mitten, boot. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Fall/Autumn Nouns

Write plural fall nouns for leaf, haystack, rake, apple, hay, pumpkin, scarecrow, cobweb, turkey, and corn. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- field, bale, child, pear, plum, spider, spiderling. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Flower Nouns

Write plural flower words for daisy, tulip, iris, violet, lily, aster, poppy, rose, zinnia, and crocus. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- bouquet, pansy, orchid, peony, daffodil. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Food Nouns

Write plural food nouns for cherry, jelly, dish, peach, tomato, potato, sandwich, glass, loaf, and knife. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- berry, cheese, candy, meatloaf, dish, herb, spice. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural People Nouns

Write plural people nouns for baby, lady, woman, man, family, wife, boy, girl, child, and self. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- lady, gentleman, toddler, aunt, uncle, kid, adult, fireman, hero. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Plant Nouns

Write plural plant nouns for leaf, bush, branch, twig, tree, sprout, blossom, root, ivy, and cactus. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- bough, cone, seed, bulb, flower, bud, vines. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural School Nouns

Write plural school nouns for desk, class, lunch, recess, library, study, bus, sketch, dictionary, and trophy. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- school, pencil, university, cafeteria, child, compass. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Sports Nouns

Write plural sports nouns for play, ski, stadium arena, trophy, victory, athlete, pitch, toss, and referee. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- player, team, loss, race, uniform, match. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Spring Nouns

Write plural spring nouns for tulip, crocus, butterfly, rainbow, grass, sprout, egg, bloom, robin, umbrella. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- baby, blossom, puddle, tadpole, frog, bird, chick. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Summer Nouns

Write plural spring nouns for vacation, daisy, popsicle, ferry, fly, plane, beach, hurricane, shorts, sunglasses. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- family, mosquito, cactus, towel, parent, trip. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Thanksgiving Nouns

Write plural Thanksgiving-related nouns for turkey, feast, yam, cranberry, leaf, potato, pie, family, loaf, colony. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- roll, dish, pumpkin, pie, drumstick, slice. Or go to the answers.
plurals

Plural Winter Nouns

Write plural winter nouns for snowman, coat, icicle, earmuff, scarf, skate, snowflake, chimney, blizzard, fireplace. Then rewrite each sentence with the underlined noun made into a plural -- holiday, sweater, jacket, ski, glove, mitten. Or go to the answers.


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