Singular and Plural nouns: Nouns can be classified as singular or plural. Nouns that are singular can become plural by appending an’s, es, ies, or ves.’ Alternatively, a change in spelling may indicate the noun’s plural form. Nouns that are the same in both singular and plural forms are also included. Examine the lists of terms in the article, both singular and plural, to learn how they are pronounced.
Singular Nouns ending in ‘s’, ‘ss’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’, ‘x’, or ‘z’
Remember that these nouns need an ‘es’ added to the end to become plural. Try changing the following singular nouns to plural ones.
1. class
2. fox
3. pouch
4. buzz
Irregular Nouns
When you change an irregular noun ending in a ‘f’ to a ‘v’ and then add a ‘es’ at the end, the word becomes plural. After changing the ‘y’ to a ‘i’ and adding a ‘es’ at the end, nouns ending in ‘y’ become plural. Generally, nouns with a vowel immediately before the ‘y’ that end in’s’ only need an’s’ ending. Additionally, when you make the first noun plural, a hyphenated compound word also becomes plural. Try making these erratic verbs plural!
hoof
guppy
study
tray
nanny
loaf
father-in-law
commander-in-chief
Adding an ‘s’
To make a noun plural, it usually just has to have an’s’ added to it. Look around you in whatever space you are in, and the majority of what you see are most likely nouns that just need to have an’s’ added to them. For instances, see the table below.
Singular – Plural
desk – desks
table – tables
computer – computers
Adding an ‘es’
In most cases when the noun ends in a buzzing, shushing or hissing sound like bush, buzz or class, the plural form of the noun needs to have an ‘es’ added to the end. Refer to the table below for examples.
Singular – Plural
Glass – glasses
Church – churches
Bush – bushes
Buzz – buzzes
Fox – foxes
Adding an ‘i’
Some words in English that end in ‘us’ have strong root ties to Latin. Some of those endings need to change from ‘us’ to ‘i’ in the plural form. While there is not a definite rule on when ‘us’ singular nouns need to change to ‘i’, the table below shows some common examples.
Singular – Plural
Octopus – octopi
Fungus – fungi
Alumnus – alumni
Ending in ‘s’ or ‘z’
Nouns that end is ‘s’ or ‘z’ most often have an ‘es’ added to them in the the plural form. There are some words, however, that are exceptions to the rule. In the exception cases, the ‘s’ or ‘z’ needs to be doubled before adding the ‘es’. See the table below for examples of the exceptions.
Singular – Plural
Quiz – quizzes
Fez – fezzes
Gas – gasses
Ending in ‘f’ or ‘fe’
When the singular form of a noun ends in an ‘f’ or ‘fe’, they need to be replaced with ‘ves’ to make them plural. See the table below for examples.
Singular – Plural
Knife – knives
Wife – wives
Life – lives
Wolf – wolves
Thief – thieves
shelf – shelves
Ending in ‘f’
While most words that end in ‘f’ do change to ‘ves’, there are exceptions to the rule such as
Singular Plural
Leaf Leaves
Loaf Loaves
Calf Calves
Half Halves
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Leaf | Leaves |
| Loaf | Loaves |
| Calf | Calves |
| Half | Halves |
| Knife | Knives |
| Life | Lives |
| Self | Selves |
| Sheaf | Sheaves |
| Thief | Thieves |
| Wife | Wives |
| Wolf | Wolves |
| Shelf | Shelves |
| Elf | Elves |
| Hoof | Hooves |
| Scarf | Scarves |
| Wharf | Wharves |
| Dwarf | Dwarves |
| Chief | Chiefs |
| Giraff | e Giraffes |
| Tariff | Tariffs |
| Sherif | f Sheriffs |
| Cuff | Cuffs |
| Roof | Roofs |
| Chief | Chiefs |
| Plaint | iff Plaintiffs |
| Handke | rchief Handkerchiefs |
| Safe | Safes |
| Proof | Proofs |
| Gulf | Gulfs |
| Reef | Reefs |
| Belief | Beliefs |
| Brief | Briefs |
| Grief | Griefs |
| Motif | Motifs |
| Banana | leaf Banana leaves |
| Beehiv | e Beehives |
| Booksh | elf Bookshelves |
| Butter | fly knife Butterfly knives |
| Gold l | eaf Gold leaves |
| Half | |
| Housew | ife Housewives |
| Midlif | e Midlives |
| Nevert | heless Neverselves |
| Thieve | s Thieves |
| Wolf | Wolves |
| Self | |
| Shelf | life Shelves lives |
List of Singular and Plural Words
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dog | Dogs | Cat | Cat |
| Bird | Birds | Animal | Animals |
| Ant | Ants | Dove | Doves |
| Elephant | Elephants | Weasel | Weasels |
| Shark | Sharks | Crocodile | Crocodiles |
| Crow | Crows | Axe | Axes |
| Bat | Bats | Frog | Frogs |
| Lake | Lakes | River | Rivers |
| Sea | Seas | Ocean | Oceans |
| Cow | Cows | Parrot | Parrots |
| Peacock | Peacocks | Dolphin | Dolphins |
| Owl | Owls | Quail | Quails |
| Boy | Boys | Girl | Girls |
| Doctor | Doctors | Teacher | Teachers |
| Painter | Painters | Artist | Artists |
| Judge | Judges | Pilot | Pilots |
| Actor | Actors | Singer | Singers |
| Head | Heads | Hand | Hands |
| Finger | Fingers | Toe | Toes |
| Shawl | Shawls | Pen | Pens |
| Pencil | Pencils | Ruler | Rulers |
| Paper | Papers | Eraser | Erasers |
| Tablet | Tablets | Computer | Computers |
| Son | Sons | Daughter | Daughters |
| Brother | Brothers | Sister | Sisters |
| Uncle | Uncles | Aunt | Aunts |
| Grandmother | Grandmothers | Grandfather | Grandfathers |
| Grandson | Grandsons | Granddaughter | Granddaughters |
| Clip | Clips | Comb | Combs |
| Eye | Eyes | Ear | Ears |
| Chair | Chairs | Table | Tables |
| Bed | Beds | Fan | Fans |
| Light | Lights | Pan | Pans |
| Van | Vans | Train | Trains |
| Key | Keys | Way | Ways |
| Box | Boxes | Tax | Taxes |
| Fox | Foxes | Wolf | Wolves |
| Match | Matches | Watch | Watches |
| Potato | Potatoes | Tomato | Tomatoes |
| Chilly | Chilies | Baby | Babies |
| Rally | Rallies | Poppy | Poppies |
| Daisy | Daisies | Fairy | Fairies |
| Calf | Calves | Half | Halves |
| Loaf | Loaves | Knife | Knives |
| Leaf | Leaves | Wife | Wives |
List of Irregular Singular and Plural Nouns
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child | Children | Man | Men |
| Woman | Women | Ox | Oxen |
| Goose | Geese | Tooth | Teeth |
| Foot | Feet | Alumnus | Alumni |
| Fungus | Fungi | Bacterium | Bacteria |
| Radius | Radii | Focus | Foci |
| Thesis | Theses | Crisis | Crises |
| Analysis | Analyses | Diagnosis | Diagnoses |
| Phenomenon | Phenomena | Criterion | Criteria |
| Mouse | Mice | Sheep | Sheep |
| Furniture | Furniture | News | News |
| Deer | Deer | Fish | Fish |
| Scissors | Scissors | Police | Police |
| Sister-in-law | Sisters-in-law | Brother-in-law | Brothers-in-law |
| Mother-in-law | Mothers-in-law | Father-in-law | Fathers-in-law |
| Daughter-in-law | Daughters-in-law | Son-in-law | Sons-in-law |
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