Noun Plurals
Irregular Plural Forms
Some nouns form their plural not by adding
the ending -s/-es, but by changing the letters
in the root of the word.
tooth - teeth
louse - lice
mouse - mice
ox - oxen
child - children
woman - women
man - men
Nouns ending in -f or -fe
Nouns witch end in two vowels plus -f usually
form plurals with just an -s
spoof - spoofs
Chief - chiefs
If a nouns ends in -f or -fe, witch is precede
by a consonant or a single vowel change
the -f or -fe to -ves
thief - thieves
wife - wives
scarf - scarves
half - halves
Knife - knives
Nouns ending in -y
If the noun ends with a consonant plus -y,
make the plural by changing -y to -ies
daisy - dasies
activity - activities
Berry - berries
Some nouns have the same
singular and plural form
an alms - alms
a species - different species
a dozen - six dozen
a salmon - several salmon
a fish - two fish
a swine - several swine
a moose - five moose
a deer - two deer
one sheep - two sheep
Nouns ending in -o
Nouns ending in -o can add either -s or -es
in the plurals, and some can be spelled either way.
There are some common nouns
ending in -o that can be spelled with
either -s or -es in the plural
mango - mangos or mangoes
halo - halos or haloes
ghetto - ghettos or ghettoes
flamingo - flamingos or flamingoes
cargo - cargo or cargoes
banjo - banjos or banjoes
Those witch have a vowel
before the final -o
always just add -s
zoo - zoos
studio - studios
As a general rule,
most nouns ending in -o
add -s to make the plural
avocado - avocados
Solo - solos
Nouns ending in -ch, -s, -sh,
-x, or -z
But if the -ch ending is pronounsed with a `k`
sound, you add -s rather than -es
epoch - epochs
stomach - stomachs
If the noun ends with -ch, -s, -sh, -x, or -z,
add -es to form the plural
fox - foxes
bus - buses
Church - churches
