Guidelines for Forming Singular and Plural Nouns

 
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Singular and Plural Nouns
 
Plural and “’s”
 
To form the plural of most nouns, add 
-s
:
Singular
  
Plural
Ski 
   
skis
Guru 
   
gurus
miser 
   
misers
Banana
  
bananas
Menu
   
menus
Encyclopedia
  
encyclopedias
Breakfast
  
breakfasts
 
 
Plural and “-y” Endings
 
To form the plural of a noun ending in 
–y
 preceded
by vowel, add only an 
–s.
Singular
  
Plural
Key
   
keys
Ploy
   
ploys
Birthday
  
birthdays
Jersey
   
jerseys
 
Plurals, “-y” endings, and “-ies”
 
To form the plural of a noun ending in 
–y
 preceded
by a consonant, change the “
–y”
 to “
–I” 
and add “
es
.”
Singular
  
Plural
Country
  
countries
Spy
   
spies
Dictionary
  
dictionaries
 
 
EXCEPTION:
 
To form the plural of proper nouns ending in 
–y
preceded by a consonant, just add an 
–s
.
the Kennedys
the Bradys
the Cosbys
two hot Julys
 
For –s, -sh, -ch, -z,
 or 
x
, add 
–es
:
 
To form the plural of a noun ending in 
–s, -sh, -ch, -
z,
 or 
x
, add 
–es
:
Singular
  
Plural
Fax
   
faxes
Bonus
   
bonuses
Atlas
   
atlases
Leash
   
leashes
Watch
  
watches
Tax
   
taxes
 
Double the final consonant
 
Double the final consonant of one-syllable words
ending in a single 
–s
 or 
–z
 preceded by vowel:
Singular
  
Plural
Bus
   
buses or busses
Quiz
   
quizzes
 
 
Proper nouns ending in 
–s, -sh, ch,
-z
, and 
–x
 
Proper nouns ending in 
–s, -sh, ch, -z
, and 
–x
 also
form their plurals with an 
–es
:
the Joneses
the Harrises
the Willises
two Gladyses in my class
the Hirsches
the Martinezes
 
False Pronunciation
 
Don’t add 
–es
 to a proper noun ending in 
–s
 if the
additional inflection creates a false pronunciation:
two Mercedes, not two Mercedeses.
 
Dictionaries’ Spelling
 
Dictionaries may differ in their spelling of words
ending in 
–o
:
Singular
  
Plural
Tornado
  
tornadoes or tornados
Memento
  
mementos or mementoes
Halo
   
halos or haloes
Mosquito
  
mosquitoes
 
Ending in 
–o
 and Preceded by a Vowel
 
To form the plural of a noun ending in
–o
 preceded by
a vowel, add an 
–s
:
Singular
  
Plural
Stereo
  
stereos
Rodeo
  
rodeos
Shampoo
  
shampoos
Radio
   
radios
 
Nouns Ending in 
–o
 and Preceded
by a Consonant
 
To form the plural of some nouns ending in 
–o
preceded by a consonant, add 
–s
:
Singular
  
Plural
Taco
   
tacos
Photo
   
photos
Ghetto
  
ghettos
Embryo
  
embryos
Piano
   
pianos
 
Nouns Ending in 
–o
 and Preceded
by a Consonant cont.
 
To form the plural of some nouns ending in 
–o
preceded by a consonant, add 
–es
:
Singular
  
Plural
Potato
  
potatoes
Veto
   
vetoes
 
Plurals cont. 1
 
To form the plural of some words ending in 
–f
 or 
–fe
, add 
–s
 only; to
others, change the 
–f
 to 
–v
 and add 
–es
:
Singular
  
Plural
Belief
  
beliefs
Roof
  
roofs
Sheriff
  
sheriffs
Tiff
  
tiffs
Half
  
halves
Leaf
  
leaves
Life
  
lives
Shelf
  
shelves
Dwarf
  
dwarfs or dwarves
Scarf
  
scarfs or scarves
 
 
Irregular Ways
 
Some nouns form their plurals in irregular ways:
Singular
  
Plural
ox 
   
oxen
Child
   
children
Man
   
men
Woman
  
women
Die
   
dice
Mouse
  
mice
 
Change the Last Element
 
To form the plural of some compound nouns, change
the last element of the compound:
Singular
   
Plural
a three-year-old
  
three-year-olds
handful
   
handfuls
cease-fire
   
cease-fires
madman
   
madmen
 
Most Important
 
With other compound nouns, change the form of the word that’s
clearly the most important:
Singular
  
Plural
statute of limitations
 
statutes of limitations
mother-in-law
  
mothers-in-law
rule of thumb
  
rules of thumb
passer-by
  
passers-by
runner-up
  
runners-up
bill of sale
  
bills of sale
poet laureate
  
poets laureates
court martial
  
court martials
attorney general
 
attorneys general or attorney generals
 
 
Foreign Words Change
 
Nouns derived from foreign words change their spelling altogether:
 
Singular
 
  
Plural
Alumnus
   
alumni
Alumna
   
alumnae
Crisis
   
crises
Analysis
   
analyses
Nucleus
   
nuclei
Parenthesis
  
parentheses
Medium
   
media
Criterion
   
criteria
Basis
   
bases
Memorandum
  
memorandums or memoranda
Syllabus
   
syllabuses or syllabi
Bacterium
  
bacteria
Opus
   
opera
 
Some nouns don’t change their
form.
 
Plurals cont. 2
 
To form the plural of symbols, letters, and words, add an
apostrophe and 
–s
:
 
four “S’s” in the word 
Mississippi
no “
if’s
,” “
and’s
,” or “
but’s”
 
That’s all, folks!
 
This lesson is part of the UWF Writing Lab Grammar
Mini-Lesson Series
Lessons adapted from 
Real Good Grammar, Too
 by
Mamie Webb Hixon
To find out more, visit the Writing Lab’s 
website
where you can 
take a self-scoring quiz
corresponding to this lesson
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This collection provides clear guidelines for forming singular and plural nouns, including adding "-s", "-y endings, and "-ies". It also covers exceptions, proper nouns, and tips on pluralizing certain words. Learn when to add "-es", double consonants, or when a false pronunciation might occur.


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  1. Writing Lab Singular and Plural Nouns

  2. Plural and s To form the plural of most nouns, add -s: Singular Ski Guru miser Banana Menu Encyclopedia Breakfast Plural skis gurus misers bananas menus encyclopedias breakfasts

  3. Plural and -y Endings To form the plural of a noun ending in y preceded by vowel, add only an s. Singular Plural Key keys Ploy ploys Birthday birthdays Jersey jerseys

  4. Plurals, -y endings, and -ies To form the plural of a noun ending in y preceded by a consonant, change the y to I and add es. Singular Plural Country countries Spy spies Dictionary dictionaries

  5. EXCEPTION: To form the plural of proper nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant, just add an s. the Kennedys the Bradys the Cosbys two hot Julys

  6. For s, -sh, -ch, -z, or x, add es: To form the plural of a noun ending in s, -sh, -ch, - z, or x, add es: Singular Plural Fax faxes Bonus bonuses Atlas atlases Leash leashes Watch watches Tax taxes

  7. Double the final consonant Double the final consonant of one-syllable words ending in a single s or z preceded by vowel: Singular Plural Bus buses or busses Quiz quizzes

  8. Proper nouns ending in s, -sh, ch, -z, and x Proper nouns ending in s, -sh, ch, -z, and x also form their plurals with an es: the Joneses the Harrises the Willises two Gladyses in my class the Hirsches the Martinezes

  9. False Pronunciation Don t add es to a proper noun ending in s if the additional inflection creates a false pronunciation: two Mercedes, not two Mercedeses.

  10. Dictionaries Spelling Dictionaries may differ in their spelling of words ending in o: Singular Plural Tornado tornadoes or tornados Memento mementos or mementoes Halo halos or haloes Mosquito mosquitoes

  11. Ending in o and Preceded by a Vowel To form the plural of a noun ending in o preceded by a vowel, add an s: Singular Plural Stereo stereos Rodeo rodeos Shampoo shampoos Radio radios

  12. Nouns Ending in o and Preceded by a Consonant To form the plural of some nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant, add s: Singular Plural Taco tacos Photo photos Ghetto ghettos Embryo embryos Piano pianos

  13. Nouns Ending in o and Preceded by a Consonant cont. To form the plural of some nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant, add es: Singular Plural Potato potatoes Veto vetoes

  14. Plurals cont. 1 To form the plural of some words ending in f or fe, add s only; to others, change the f to v and add es: Singular Plural Belief beliefs Roof roofs Sheriff sheriffs Tiff tiffs Half halves Leaf leaves Life lives Shelf shelves Dwarf dwarfs or dwarves Scarf scarfs or scarves

  15. Irregular Ways Some nouns form their plurals in irregular ways: Singular Plural ox oxen Child children Man men Woman women Die dice Mouse mice

  16. Change the Last Element To form the plural of some compound nouns, change the last element of the compound: Singular Plural a three-year-old handful cease-fire madman three-year-olds handfuls cease-fires madmen

  17. Most Important With other compound nouns, change the form of the word that s clearly the most important: Singular Plural statute of limitations statutes of limitations mother-in-law mothers-in-law rule of thumb rules of thumb passer-by passers-by runner-up runners-up bill of sale bills of sale poet laureate poets laureates court martial court martials attorney general attorneys general or attorney generals

  18. Foreign Words Change Nouns derived from foreign words change their spelling altogether: Singular Alumnus Alumna Crisis Analysis Nucleus Parenthesis Medium Criterion Basis Memorandum Syllabus Bacterium Opus Plural alumni alumnae crises analyses nuclei parentheses media criteria bases memorandums or memoranda syllabuses or syllabi bacteria opera

  19. Some nouns dont change their form. species corps salmon series status hiatus salmon deer sheep means Chinese

  20. Plurals cont. 2 To form the plural of symbols, letters, and words, add an apostrophe and s: four S s in the word Mississippi no if s, and s, or but s

  21. Thats all, folks! This lesson is part of the UWF Writing Lab Grammar Mini-Lesson Series Lessons adapted from Real Good Grammar, Too by Mamie Webb Hixon To find out more, visit the Writing Lab s website where you can take a self-scoring quiz corresponding to this lesson

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