Rules for the plurals
1- Most of nouns, to form their plural , just need an S
singular + -s
| singular |
plural |
| a car |
two cars |
| a cassette |
two cassettes |
| a lamp |
two lamps |
| a hat |
two hats |
| a cup |
two cups |
2- A noun finishing in X-CH-S-SS-O we have to add -es to form the plural:
| singular |
plural |
| a box |
two boxes |
| a sandwich |
two sandwiches |
| a tomato |
two tomatoes |
| a kiss |
two kisses |
| a bus |
two buses |
3- A noun finishing in y preceded by a consonant, to form the plural we need to substitute the y with -ies:
| singular |
plural |
| a city |
two cities |
| a lady |
two ladies |
Add -s after vowel + y:
| singular |
plural |
| a boy |
two boys |
| a day |
two days |
4- Nouns finishing in -f or -fe, to form the plural we need to substitute the -f or -fe with -ves:
| add -s |
substitute with -ves |
| singular |
plural |
singular |
plural |
| a roof |
two roofs |
a thief |
two thieves |
| a cliff |
two cliffs |
a wife |
two wives |
| a sheriff |
two sheriffs |
a shelf |
two shelves |
There are two forms possible:
scarf - scarfs/scarves
hoof - hoofs/hooves
Add -s for words ending in -ff.
Always use a dictionary if you are not sure.
BE CAREFUL WITH SOME NOUNS!!!
Irregular plural forms:
| singular |
plural |
| a man |
two men |
| a woman |
two women |
| a child |
two children |
| a mouse |
two mice |
| a tooth |
two teeth |
| a goose |
two geese |
| a foot |
two feet |
| an ox |
two oxen |
|
| singular |
plural |
singular |
plural |
| a disco |
two discos |
a tomato |
two tomatoes |
| a piano |
two pianos |
a potato |
two potatoes |
| a photo |
two photos |
a hero |
two heroes |
Some nouns can have two plural forms:
buffalo - buffalos/buffaloes
mosquito - mosquitos/mosquitoes
tornado - tornados/tornadoes
There is no rule when to use -s or -es. We often add -s with technical words.
There are two forms of the plural of the word penny:
pennies -> You refer to the coins.
pence -> You refer to the price (how much sth. is).