Nouns: Singular and Plural

Nouns have both singular and plural forms. Singular means one. Plural means more than one.

one book       two books

one car       two cars

To make the plural form of most nouns simply add an ~s to the end of the noun. Some nouns require that you change the ending of the word before you add an ~s. Please study the following rules carefully. They will help you learn how to correctly form plural nouns.

If the noun ends with a consonant + ~y, as in body, form the plural by changing the ~y to ~i and then add ~es

Examples:

baby ---> babies

city ---> cities

If the noun ends with a vowel + y, form the plural by adding ~s.

Examples:

boy ---> boys

day ---> days

If the noun ends with ~ef or ~f, form the plural by changing the ~f to ~v and then add ~s.

Examples:

wife ---> wives

wolf ---> wolves

If the noun ends with ~sh, ~ch, ~ss, ~x, form the plural by adding ~es

Examples:

wish ---> wishes

match ---> matches

glass ---> glasses

box ---> boxes

If the noun ends with a consonant + o, form the plural by adding ~es

Examples:

tomato ---> tomatoes

potato ---> potatoes

If the noun ends in a vowel + o, form the plural by ading ~s

Examples:

zoo ---> zoos

radio ---> radios