THE PLURAL OF NOUNS

THE PLURAL OF NOUNS

Most nouns form the plural by adding -s or -es.

Examples

Singular	Plural
boat	boats
hat	hats
house	houses
river	rivers

A noun ending in -y preceded by a consonant makes the plural with -ies.

Examples

Singular	Plural
a cry	cries
a fly	flies
a nappy	nappies
a poppy	poppies
a city	cities
a lady	ladies
a baby	babies

There are some irregular formations for noun plurals. Some of the most common ones are listed below.

Examples of irregular plurals

Singular	Plural
woman	women
man	men
child	children
tooth	teeth
foot	feet
person	people
leaf	leaves
half	halves
knife	knives
wife	wives
life	lives
loaf	loaves
potato	potatoes
cactus	cacti
focus	foci
fungus	fungi
nucleus	nuclei
syllabus	syllabi/syllabuses
analysis	analyses
diagnosis	diagnoses
oasis	oases
thesis	theses
crisis	crises
phenomenon	phenomena
criterion	criteria
datum	data

Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural.

Examples

Singular	Plural
sheep	sheep
fish	fish
species	species
aircraft	aircraft

Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb.

Examples

• news The news is on at 6.30 p.m.
• athletics Athletics is good for young people.
• linguistics Linguistics is the study of language.
• darts Darts is a popular game in England.
• billiards Billiards is played all over the world.

Some nouns have a plural form and take a plural verb.

Examples

• trousers My trousers are too tight.
• jeans Her jeans are black.
• glasses Those glasses are his.

others include:

• savings, thanks, steps, stair, customs, congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts, goods, wits