Singular to Plural Nouns

Changing singular nouns to plural nouns can be like a little adventure in the world of words. While most of the time, you just add an “s” to make a word plural, there are lots of exceptions.

So, let’s look at how we can pluralize our words by checking out the rules and the exceptions. But let this be a word of warning. English has a lot of surprises.

1. Regular Nouns

I like regular nouns because they’re easy to make plural. You simply just add an “s” at the end. For instance, “cat” becomes “cats“, and “book” turns into “books“.

Here are some more examples.

2. Ends in S, Ch, Sh, X, or Z

Plural nouns for words that end in “s”, “ch”, “sh”, “x”, or “z” get special treatment. You add “es” to make them plural. For example, “bus” becomes “buses” and “box” turns into “boxes“.

Here are some examples of this plural form.

3. Ends in F or Fe

When nouns end in “f” or “fe”, the plural form often changes to “ves”. For instance, “leaf” turns into “leaves“, and “knife” becomes “knives“. But, keep in mind, not all words follow this rule. Words like “roof” simply add an “s” to become “roofs”. I think “rooves” is also grammatically correct in some places.

Here are some examples of nouns that either end in “f” or “fe”.

4. Ends in Vowel + Y

When nouns end in a vowel followed by “y”, making them plural is super easy. You just add an “s”. For example, “toy” becomes “toys“, and “key” turns into “keys“. So, when you see a word ending in “ay”, “ey”, “iy”, “oy”, or “uy”, just tack on that “s”.

Here are a couple of examples of adding “s” to words that end in vowel + “y”.

5. Ends in Consonant + Y

If a noun ends in a consonant followed by “y”, the rule changes a bit. You replace the “y” with “ies” to make them plural. For example, “city” becomes “cities“, and “puppy” turns into “puppies“.

Below, you’ll find examples of adding “ies” to words that end in consonant + “y”.

6. Ends in Vowel + O

When nouns end in a vowel followed by “o”, making them plural is pretty straightforward—you usually just add an “s”. It’s really similar to our first example with regular nouns.

Here are some examples of nouns ending with a vowel + “0”.

7. Ends in Consonant + O

For nouns that end in a consonant followed by “o”, we usually add “es” to make them plural. For instance, “tomato” becomes “tomatoes” and “echo” becomes “echoes”. But, as with most rules, there are exceptions. Words like “piano” become “pianos”, simply adding an “s”.

Check out these examples of pluralizing nouns ending with consonant + “o”.

8. Irregular Nouns

Irregular nouns in English break the usual rules of forming plurals. Instead of just adding “s” or “es”, they change entirely. For example, “child” becomes “children”. Because English likes to keep things interesting, we also have words like “mouse” turning into “mice”.

Find out examples of irregular plural nouns with the examples below.

9. No Change

Some nouns in English stay exactly the same in both their singular and plural forms. For example, “sheep” stays “sheep” whether you have one or a flock. “Fish” can be one fish or many fish. But I’ve heard “fishes” for referring to different species. These words remind us that sometimes, less is more.

Singular to Plural Nouns

From singular to plural nouns, we’ve seen how English can be simple, surprising, and sometimes, just stay the same. Most words just add an “s” to make more, like “cats” and “dogs”. But then, there are those that change completely, like “children” from “child”. Some also don’t change at all, like “sheep” for one or many.

So, as we finish talking about making nouns plural, let’s remember that learning English is full of surprises. Please ask anything and share your thoughts. We love receiving and answering your questions. Share them in the comment section below.