Singular and Plural Nouns

Nouns are either singular or plural. A singular noun names only one person, place, or thing. A plural noun names more than one person, place, or thing. Here, we learn to identify regular singular and plural nouns.

Examples 1

Tell whether each noun is singular or plural.

Solutions

Forming Plural Nouns

We never form a plural noun with an apostrophe. In most cases, we make a singular noun plural by adding an s.

Irregular Plural Nouns

Some nouns have irregular plural forms. We must learn these.

• We add es to a singular noun ending in the following letters: s, sh, ch, x, z.

Jameses, losses, bushes,
benches, foxes, Gomezes
buzzes, Chrises

• We add an s when a singular noun ends with ay, ey, oy, or uy.

ways, keys, boys, guys

• We change y to i and add es when a singular noun ends in a consonant plus y.

spies, babies, parties, tributaries

• For most nouns ending in f, ff, and fe, we add only an s to form the plural.

cuffs, gulfs, safes

• However, for some nouns ending in f and fe, we change the f to v and add es.

• We usually add s to form the plurals of nouns ending in o, especially if they are musical terms.

However, the following important exceptions illustrate the rule that nouns ending in -o preceded by a consonant add -es to form the plural:

• Some singular nouns change completely in their plural forms.

Other nouns, such as moose, deer, and cod, are the same in their singular and plural forms.

As there are many more exceptions, we must use a dictionary to check plural forms. If the plural form of the noun is regular (simply add s to the singular noun), then the dictionary will not list it. Sometimes the dictionary will list two plural forms for a noun. The first one listed is the preferred one. Example: cactus n., pl. cacti, cactuses. Obviously, the word cactus is one of the many irregular singular and plural nouns.

Examples 2

Write the plural form of each singular noun. Refer to the examples above, and use the dictionary if you are in doubt.

Solutions