Singular and plural nouns | English Grammar

Introduction

Most nouns in English have both singular and plural forms, and the plural is usually formed by adding "-s" to the singular. Most nouns in English have both singular and plural forms, and the plural is usually formed by adding “-s” to the singular.

How to form the plural

Noun ending	Forming the plural	Example
s, x, ch or sh	Add -es	boss  bosses tax  taxes bush  bushes
consonant + y	Change y to i then add -es	baby babies candy candies curry  curries
most others	Add -s	cat  cats face  faces day  days

Irregular Plurals of Nouns

Types of irregular plural

There are many types of irregular plural, but these are the most common:

Noun type	Forming the plural	Example
Ends with -fe	Change f to v then Add -s	knife  knives life  lives wife  wives
Ends with -f	Change f to v then Add -es	half  halves wolf  wolves loaf  loaves
Ends with -o	Add -es	potato  potatoes tomato  tomatoes volcano  volcanoes
ends with -us	Change -us to -i	cactus  cacti nucleus  nuclei focus  foci
ends with -is	Change -is to -es	analysis  analyses crisis  crises thesis  theses
ends with -on	Change -on to -a	phenomenon  phenomena criterion  criteria
ALL KINDS	Change the vowel or Change the word or Add a different ending	man  men foot  feet child  children person  people tooth  teeth mouse  mice
Unchanging	Singular and plural are the same	sheep deer fish (sometimes)

IRREGULAR NOUNS

There are some irregular noun plurals. The most common ones are listed below.

EXAMPLES 

Singular	Plural
woman	women
man	men
child	children
tooth	teeth
foot	feet
person	people
leaf	leaves
mouse	mice
goose	geese
half	halves
knife	knives
wife	wives
life	lives
elf	elves
loaf	loaves
potato	potatoes
tomato	tomatoes
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

IRREGULAR VERB/NOUN AGREEMENT

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

Plural nouns used with a singular verb	Sentence
news	The news is 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 fixed plural form and take a plural verb. They are not used in the singular, or they have a different meaning in the singular. Nouns like this include: trousers, jeans, glasses, savings, thanks, steps, stairs, customs, congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts, goods, wits

Plural noun with plural verb	Sentence
trousers	My trousers are too tight.
jeans	Her jeans are black.
glasses	Those glasses are his.

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