Plural Nouns: Their Formation with Examples

• A noun is a term that typically serves as the name of a certain thing, such as living things, places, things that are happening, activities, traits, etc.
• Nouns in the English language can be classified as singular or plural depending on their number.
• The majority of singular nouns can be made plural by adding a –s or -es at the end.
• Depending on what letter a noun finishes in, pluralization rules can vary greatly.
• Since irregular plural nouns are entirely different from their single counterparts, they do not follow any of the rules for plural nouns.
• To make regular nouns plural, add s at the end.

For example

Cat becomes cats

Dog becomes dogs

Tiger becomes tigers

• If singular nouns end in s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z, add es at the end to turn those into their plural form.

For Example

Bus becomes buses

Lunch becomes lunches

Tax becomes taxes

• If the noun ends with ‑f or ‑fe, the f is often changed to ‑ve before adding the -s to form the plural version.

For Example

Wife becomes wives

Wolf becomes wolves

Leaf becomes leaves

• If a singular noun ends in ‑y and the letter before the -y is a consonant, change the ending to ‑ies to make the noun plural and if the letter before the -y is a vowel, simply add an -s to make it plural.

For Example

City becomes cities

Berry becomes berries

Boy becomes boys

• If the singular noun ends in ‑us, the plural ending is frequently ‑i.

For Example

Cactus becomes cacti

Octopus becomes octopi

Fungus becomes fungi

• If the singular noun ends in ‑is, the plural ending is ‑es.

For Example

Analysis becomes analyses

Crisis becomes crises

Axis becomes axes

• Some nouns don’t change at all even after pluralization.

For Example

Sheep – Sheep

Series – Series

Deer – Deer

You need to see these nouns in context to identify them as singular or plural.