PLURAL OF NOUNS

A) The plural of nouns is generally formed by adding "S" to the

singular
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
book books
girl girls
hand hands
table tables
#) Add "$S" to nouns ending in %h&s&sh&ss&' and (.
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
chur%h churches
bus buses
brush brushes
kiss kisses
bo' boxes
bu(( buzzes
$'%eptions)
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
o' o'en
Add "S" to nouns ending in %h *hi%h ha+e the sound of ,
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
epo%h epochs
monar%h monarchs
stoma%h stomachs
-) Nouns ending in "y" pre%eded by a %onsonant %hange the "y" into
"!$S"& but if the "y" is pre%eded by a +o*el& only "S" is added
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
lady ladies
country countries
boy boys
day days
1
.) /ost nouns ending in "o" pre%eded by a %onsonant ta,e "$S" in
the plural
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
echo echoes
hero heroes
potato potatoes
$'%eptions)
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
dynamo dynamos
halo halos
photo photos
piano pianos
solo solos
$) All nouns ending in "o" pre%eded by a +o*el ta,e "S" in the
plural
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
cuckoo cuckoos
portfolio portfolios
F) Nouns ending in "f" or "fe" drop the "f" or "fe" and add "0$S"
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
calf cal+es
half hal+es
knife kni+es
leaf lea+es
life li+es
loaf loa+es
self sel+es
sheaf shea+es
shelf shel+es
thief thie+es
wife wi+es
2
$'%eptions)
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
cliff cliffs
handkerchief handkerchiefs
roof roofs
") Nouns *hi%h retain their original "ree, or Latin forms ma,e
their plurals a%%ording to the rules of "ree, or Latin
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
alumnus alumni
crisis crises
datum data
erratum errata
oasis oases
phenomenon phenomena
stimulus stimuli
terminus termini
1) !rregular Plurals
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
%hild %hildren
die di%e
foot feet
goose geese
louse li%e
man men
mouse mi%e
tooth teeth
*oman *omen
!) -ompound Nouns
2 Normally& the last *ord is made plural in %ompound nouns
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
armchair armchairs
3
bookcase bookcases
mailman mailmen
3 4here man or *oman %ome first& both parts are made plural
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
manservant menservants
woman-teacher women-teachers
5 -ompound nouns formed *ith prepositions or ad+erbs ma,e only
the first *ord plural
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
looker-on lookers-on
sister-in-law sisters-in-law
6 -ompounds finishing in "ful" ta,e "S"
S!N"ULAR PLURAL
handful handfuls
spoonful spoonfuls
7) Some nouns in $nglish are used only in the singular form and so
the +erb remains in singular
a%%ommodation
ad+i%e
furniture
information
,no*ledge
ne*s
progress
8) Some nouns ha+e the same form for both plural and singular
deer
fish
series
sheep
spe%ies
L) The names of many s%ien%es ending in "i%s" are singular The
+erb remains in the singular form
4
$thi%s /athemati%s 9/ath) Phoneti%s
Physi%s Statisti%s "eneti%s
/) The follo*ing nouns are al*ays plural and are follo*ed by +erbs
in the plural)
alms bo*els %ontents
%ustoms fire*or,s goods
pants s%issors shears
spe%ta%les stairs than,s
trousers *ages *ares
!/PORTANT R$/AR8S)
The plural forms "hundreds", "dozens", "thousands", etc. are used
if some indefinite number is implied, as
1undreds of miles
.o(ens of eggs
Thousands of buildings
!ut they remain uninfle%ted after numerals, as
Fi+e hundred miles
Three do(en eggs
Four thousand buildings
"ote also that is this case the preposition of is placed after
"hundreds", "dozens", "thousands", etc. A definite number is never
followed by of.
5