Plural Nouns Possessive Adjectives

Plural Nouns

When you refer to more than one noun, you use the plural form of that noun. The plural of a noun is usually formed by adding an 's' at the end of the word. For example: the plural of cat is cats; the plural of flower is flowers, and the plural of computer is computers.

If the word ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh, the plural is usually formed by adding 'es.' This is because when you add an 's' to the end of these words, you have to add an extra syllable to the the word in order to prounounce it. For example: the plural of boss is bosses, the plural of box is boxes, the plural of buzz is buzzes, the plural of lunch is lunches, and the plural of brush is brushes.

Not all plurals end in 's' or 'es'. Irregular nouns are those that do not use the regular plural ending. The following are some irregular plurals.

Type of Noun Rule for Forming the Plural Examples Exceptions Word ends in s, x, ch, or sh Add 'es' to the end arch/arches, atlas/atlases, ax/axes, bash/bashes, bench/benches, bias/biases, botch/botches, box/boxes, brush/brushes, bunch/bunches, bus/buses, bush/bushes, canvas/canvases, catch/catches, church/churches, class/classes, compass/compasses, crash/crashes, cross/crosses, dais/daises, dish/dishes, dress/dresses, equinox/equinoxes, etch/etches, fetch/fetches, fix/fixes, fox/foxes, gas/gases, grass/grasses, itch/itches, kiss/kisses, larch/larches, lash/lashes, latch/latches, mantis/mantises, march/marches, marsh/marshes, mash/mashes, mass/masses, match/matches, moss/mosses, mix/mixes, pass/passes, patch/patches, pox/poxes, radish/radishes, sash/sashes, sketch/sketches, starch/starches, stitch/stitches, tax/taxes, touch/touches, trash/trashes, twitch/twitches, vehicle/vehicles, wish/wishes, witch/witches, wrench/wrenches axis/axes, ox/oxen Word ends in z Add 'zes' to the end buzz/buzzes, fizz/fizzes, klutz/klutzes, quiz/quizzes, topaz/topazes, waltz/waltzes Ending in 'y' preceded by a vowel Add an 's' alley/alleys, attorney/attorneys, essay/essays, boy/boys, delay/delays, guy/guys, jay/jays, key/keys, osprey/ospreys, play/plays, ray/rays, stray/strays, toy/toys, tray/trays, turkey/turkeys, valley/valleys, way/ways

Ending in 'y' preceded by a consonant Change the final 'y' to 'ies' ally/allies, army/armies, baby/babies, beauty/beauties, berry/berries, cherry/cherries, city/cities, colony/colonies, country/countries, dictionary/dictionaries, duty/duties, enemy/enemies, fairy/fairies, family/families, ferry/ferries, fly/flies, gallery/galleries, history/histories, injury/injuries, jelly/jellies, kitty/kitties, lady/ladies, lily/lilies, navy/navies, history/histories, party/parties, pony/ponies, reply/replies, secretary/secretaries, sky/skies, spy/spies, story/stories, study/studies, symphony/symphonies, theory/theories, trophy/trophies, try/tries, university/universities, variety/varieties, victory/victories Ends with 'f' or 'fe' (but not 'ff' or 'ffe') Change the 'f' or 'fe' to 'ves' calf/calves, elf/elves, half/halves, hoof/hooves, knife/knives, leaf/leaves, life/lives, loaf/loaves, knife/knives, loaf/loaves, scarf/scarves, self/selves, shelf/shelves, wife/wives, wolf/wolves belief/beliefs, chef/chefs, chief/chiefs, dwarf/dwarfs, grief/griefs, gulf/gulfs, handkerchief/handkerchiefs, kerchief/kerchiefs, mischief/mischiefs, muff/muffs, oaf/oafs, proof/proofs, roof/roofs, safe/safes, turf/turfs Ends with 'o' Add 'es' buffalo/buffaloes, cargo/cargoes, echo/echoes, embargo/embargoes, grotto/grottoes, hero/heroes, mosquito/mosquitoes, motto/mottoes, potato/potatoes, tomato/tomatoes, torpedo/torpedoes, veto/vetoes, volcano/volcanoes, zero/zeroes albino/albinos, armadillo/armadillos, auto/autos, cameo/cameos, cello/cellos, combo/combos, duo/duos, ego/egos, folio/folios, halo/halos, inferno/infernos, lasso/lassos, memento/mementos, memo/memos, piano/pianos, photo/photos, portfolio/portfolios, pro/pros, silo/silos, solo/solos, stereo/stereos, studio/studios, taco/tacos, tattoo/tattoos, tuxedo/tuxedos, typo/typos, veto/vetoes, video/videos, yo/yos, zoo/zoos Irregular Variable child/children, die/dice, foot/feet, goose/geese, louse/lice, man/men, mouse/mice, ox/oxen, person/people, that/those, this/these, tooth/teeth, woman/women Ends with 'is' (from a Greek root) Change final 'is' to 'es' analysis/analyses, axis/axes, basis/bases, crisis/crises, ellipsis/ellipses, hypotheses/hypothesis, neurosis/neuroses, oasis/oases, paralysis/paralyses, parenthesis/parentheses, synopsis/synopses, synthesis/syntheses, thesis/theses Ends with 'us' (if the word is from the Latin) Change final 'us' to 'i' alumnus/alumni, bacillus/bacilli, cactus/cacti, focus/foci, fungus/fungi, locus/loci, nucleus/nuclei, radius/radii, stimulus/stimuli, syllabus/syllabi, terminus/termini, torus/tori abacus/abacuses, crocus/crocuses, genus/genera, octopus/octopuses (not octopi, since octopus is from the Greek language), rhombus/rhombuses, walrus/walruses Ends with 'um' Change final 'um' to 'a' bacterium/bacteria, curriculum/curricula, datum/data, erratum/errata, gymnasium/gymnasia, medium/media, memorandum/memoranda, ovum/ova, stratum/strata album/albums, stadium/stadiums

Ends with 'a' but not 'ia' (from a Latin root) Change final 'a' to 'ae' alga/algae, alumna/alumnae, antenna/antennae, larva/larvae, nebula/nebulae, pupa/pupae (or pupas), vertebra/vertebrae, vita/vitae agenda/agendas, alfalfa/alfalfas, aurora/auroras, banana/bananas, barracuda/barracudas, cornea/corneas, nova/novas, phobia/phobias Ends with 'on' (from a Greek root -- not 'tion') Change final 'on' to 'a' automaton/automata, criterion/criteria, phenomenon/phenomena, polyhedron/polyhedra balloon/balloons, carton/cartons and many, many others Ends with 'ex' Change final 'ex' to 'ices' vertex/vertices, vortex/vortices annex/annexes, complex/complexes, duplex/duplexes, hex/hexes, index/indexes or indices Unchanging Singular and plural are the same advice, aircraft, bison, corn, deer, equipment , evidence, fish (sometimes), gold, information, jewelry, kin, legislation, luck, luggage, moose, music, offspring, sheep, silver, swine, trousers, trout, wheat Only the plural exists Unchanging barracks, bellows, cattle, congratulations, deer, dregs, eyeglasses, gallows, headquarters, mathematics, means, measles, mumps, news, oats, pants, pliers, pajamas, scissors, series, shears, shorts, species, tongs, tweezers, vespers Compound nouns The plural ending is usually added to the main noun attorney general/attorneys general, bill of fare/bills of fare, chief of staff/chiefs of staff, courtmartial/courts-martial, daughter-in-law/daughters-in-law, father-in-law/fathers-inlaw, full moon/full moons, he-man/he-men, journeyman/journeymen, lady-inwaiting/ladies-in-waiting, lieutenant colonel/lieutenant colonels, maid-of-honor, maids-of-honor, master-at-arms/masters-at-arms, middle class/middle classes, mother-in-law/mothers-in-law, post office/post offices, secretary of state/secretaries of state, sergeant major/sergeants major, son-in-law/sons-in-law, passer-by/passersby, she-wolf/she-wolves, stepsister/stepsisters, ten-year-old/ten-year-olds

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