Spelling of Plural Nouns in English

English spelling can be tricky. Luckily, spelling does follow certain patterns which can help you to learn more easily.

In English grammar, a noun is a person, place or thing. When you refer to one noun, it is considered singular. When you refer to more than one noun, it is considered plural.

The chart below shows the usual changes needed to make nouns plural in English. Please note there are always exceptions.

Type of Noun	Plural Rule	Singular Noun	Plural Noun
most nouns	add `s`	cat student	cats students
noun ending in vowel + `o`	add `s`	video radio	videos radios
noun ending in vowel + `y`	add `s`	toy day	toys days
noun ending in `ch`, `sh`, `s`, `x`, `z`	add `es`	church bench brush dish class kiss fox topaz buzz	churches benches brushes dishes classes kisses foxes topazes buzzes
noun ending in consonant + `o`	add `es`	potato echo	potatoes echoes
noun ending in consonant + `y`	drop `y` and add `ies`	baby army	babies armies
noun ending in `f` or `fe`	change `f` or `fe` to `ves`	thief life	thieves lives
irregular nouns that change	varies	man woman child mouse foot tooth	men women children mice feet teeth
irregular nouns that stay the same	no change	deer sheep fish	deer sheep fish
compound nouns	add `s` to the main noun	brother-in-law secretary of state	brothers-in-law secretaries of state
noun ending in `is` (usually from Greek)	change `is` to `es`	analysis crisis thesis paralysis basis	analyses crises theses paralyses bases
noun ending in `us` (usually from Latin)	change `us` to `i`	cactus syllabus fungus stimulus	cacti syllabi fungi stimuli
noun ending in `um`	change `um` to `a`	bacterium medium	bacteria media
plural noun having no singular forms	no change	news scissors pajamas pants eyeglasses	news scissors pajamas pants eyeglasses

Practice:

Fill in the plurals. You can check yourself using the answers under the list.

#	Singular	Plural
1	valley
2	leaf
3	crayon
4	match
5	waltz
6	key
7	fix
8	family
9	self
10	wife
11	box
12	oasis

Answers: 1. valleys, 2. leaves, 3. crayons, 4. matches, 5. waltzes, 6. keys, 7. fixes, 8. families, 9. selves, 10. wives, 11. boxes, 12. oases

Spelling of Plural Nouns in English

Practice:

Test your understanding of this English lesson