Plurals of nouns
Most nouns form their plurals by simply adding –s to the end (e.g., cat/cats, book/books, journey/journeys). There are a number of exceptions to this rule, which are explained below.
Nouns ending in -y
If the noun ends with a consonant plus -y, make the plural by changing -y to -ies:
|
singular
|
plural
|
|
berry
|
berries
|
|
activity
|
activities
|
|
daisy
|
daisies
|
Nouns ending in -ch, -s, -sh, -x, or -z
If the noun ends with -ch, -s, -sh, -x, or -z, add -es to form the plural:
|
singular
|
plural
|
|
church
|
churches
|
|
bus
|
buses
|
|
fox
|
foxes
|
| blintz | blintzes |
There is one exception to this rule. If the -ch ending is pronounced with a ‘k’ sound, you add -s rather than -es:
|
singular
|
plural
|
|
stomach
|
stomachs
|
|
epoch
|
epochs
|
Nouns ending in -f or -fe
With nouns that end in a consonant or a single vowel plus -f or -fe: change the -f or -fe to -ves:
|
singular
|
plural
|
|
knife
|
knives
|
|
half
|
halves
|
Nouns that end in two vowels plus -f usually form plurals in the normal way, with just an -s:
|
singular
|
plural
|
|
chief
|
chiefs
|
|
spoof
|
spoofs
|
Nouns ending in -o
Nouns ending in -o can add either -s or -es in the plural, and some can be spelled either way.
- As a general rule, most nouns ending in -o add -s to make the plural:
|
singular
|
plural
|
|
solo
|
solos
|
|
zero
|
zeros
|
|
avocado
|
avocados
|
- Those that have a vowel before the final -o always just add -s:
|
singular
|
plural
|
|
studio
|
studios
|
|
zoo
|
zoos
|
|
embryo
|
embryos
|
- Here’s a list of the most common nouns ending in -o that are always spelled with -es in the plural:
|
singular
|
plural
|
|
echo
|
echoes
|
|
embargo
|
embargoes
|
|
hero
|
heroes
|
|
potato
|
potatoes
|
|
tomato
|
tomatoes
|
|
torpedo
|
torpedoes
|
|
veto
|
vetoes
|
- Here are some of the common nouns ending in -o that can be spelled with either -s or -es in the plural:
|
singular
|
plural
|
|
banjo
|
banjos or banjoes
|
|
buffalo
|
buffalos or buffaloes
|
|
cargo
|
cargos or cargoes
|
|
domino
|
dominos or dominoes
|
|
flamingo
|
flamingos or flamingoes
|
|
fresco
|
frescos or frescoes
|
|
ghetto
|
ghettos or ghettoes
|
|
halo
|
halos or haloes
|
|
mango
|
mangos or mangoes
|
|
memento
|
mementos or mementoes
|
|
mosquito
|
mosquitos or mosquitoes
|
|
motto
|
mottos or mottoes
|
|
tornado
|
tornados or tornadoes
|
| tuxedo | tuxedos or tuxedoes |
|
volcano
|
volcanos or volcanoes
|