Simple and plural nouns

Singular and Plural Nouns in English

Rule 1

Most nouns are made plural by adding -s to the end of the singular form.

For Examples:

• car – cars
• bag – bags
• table – tables
• house – houses
• dog – dogs

Rule 2

Singular nouns that end in ‘s’, ‘x’, ‘z’, ‘ch’, ‘sh’,or ‘ss’, form the plural by adding –es.

For Examples:

• bus – buses
• bench – benches
• box – boxes
• dish – dishes
• truss – trusses
• marsh – marshes
• lunch – lunches
• tax – taxes
• blitz – blitzes
• watch – watches

Excepting: 

• fez – fezzes
• gas –  gasses
• quiz – quizzes
• bus – busses

Rule 3

The plural form of some nouns that end in ‘f’ or ‘fe’ is made by changing the ending to -ves.

For Examples:

• half – halves
• hoof – hooves
• calf – calves
• elf – elves
• shelf – shelves
• leaf – leaves
• loaf – loaves
• thief – thieves
• wolf – wolves
• life – lives
• knife – knives
• scarf – scarves
• wife –  wives 

Excepting:

• cuff – cuffs
• knockoff – knockoffs
• chef – chefs
• belief – beliefs
• roof – roofs
• chief – chiefs

Rule 4

Nouns ending in -o:

Nouns that end in ‘o’ preceded by a vowel are made plural by adding -s.

For Examples:

• radio – radios
• stereo – stereos
• video  – videos

Nouns that end in “o” preceded by a consonant are made plural by adding -es.

For Examples:

• potato – potatoes
• tomato – tomatoes
• hero – heroes
• echo – echoes
• veto – vetoes
• domino – dominoes

Excepting: 

• piano – pianos
• photo – photos
• halo – halos
• soprano – sopranos

Rule 5

Nouns ending in ‘y‘:

When the ‘y’ follows a consonant, changing ‘y’ to ‘i’ and adding –es:

For Examples:

• city – cities
• candy – candies
• country – countries
• family – families
• cherry – cherries
• lady – ladies
• puppy – puppies
• party – parties

When the ‘y’ follows a vowel, the plural is formed by retaining the ‘y’ and adding –s:

For Examples:

• day – days
• holiday – holidays
• ray – rays
• boy – boys
• toy – toys
• key – keys
• donkey – donkeys

Rule 6

Changing the spelling of singular noun:

For Examples:

• person – people
• ox – oxen
• man – men
• woman – women
• caveman – cavemen
• policeman – policemen
• child – children
• tooth – teeth
• foot – feet
• goose – geese
• mouse – mice
• mouse – lice

Rule 7

Some nouns use the same singular and plural form:

For Examples:

• aircraft – aircraft
• barracks – barracks
• deer – deer
• gallows – gallows
• moose – moose
• salmon – salmon
• hovercraft – hovercraft
• spacecraft – spacecraft
• series – series
• species – species
• means – means
• offspring – offspring
• deer – deer
• fish – fish
• sheep –  sheep

Rule 8

Some nouns are of Latin/Greek/French Origin:

For Examples:

Nouns of Latin Origin:

• alumnus – alumni/alumnuses
• apex – apices/apeces
• appendix – appendices/ appendixes

Nouns of French Origin:

For Examples:

• chateau – chateaux/chateaus
• bureau – bureaux/ bureaus
• tableau – tableaux/tableaus

Nouns of Greek Origin:

For Examples: