Plural Nouns in English
Singular = 1
Plural = 2, 3, 4… or more (plural = more than one)
In English we normally add S to a noun when it is plural.
- 1 car (car – singular)
- 2 cars (cars – plural)
- 1 book (book – singular)
- 2 books (books – plural)
More examples of regular plural nouns:
- I have a pen. She has three pens.
- I need a plate. We need two plates.
- He has a dog. I have two dogs.
- We need three apples, a banana and two oranges for the fruit salad.
Plural Nouns – Spelling exceptions
When the noun ends in S, SH, CH, X or Z, we add -ES to the noun.
- 1 bus – 2 buses
- 1 kiss – 2 kisses
- 1 dish – 2 dishes
- 1 match – 2 matches
- 1 box – 2 boxes
- 1 prize – 2 prizes
With the word Quiz, we double the final Z in plural form before adding the -ES.
- 1 quiz – 2 quizzes
When the noun ends in CONSONANT + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES to the noun.
- 1 city – 2 cities
- 1 baby – 2 babies
- 1 story – 2 stories
- 1 country – 2 countries
Note when a noun ends in a VOWEL + Y, we just add -S
- 1 boy – 2 boys
- 1 day – 2 days
- 1 key – 2 keys
- 1 guy – 2 guys
When the noun ends in F or FE, we remove the F/FE and add -VES to the noun.
- 1 life – 2 lives
- 1 knife – 2 knives
- 1 leaf – 2 leaves
- 1 scarf – 2 scarves
Note, there are some exceptions to this rule:
- roof – roofs
- cliff – cliffs
- chief – chiefs
- belief – beliefs
- chef – chefs
If the noun ends in a CONSONANT + O, we normally add -ES to the noun.
- 1 tomato – 2 tomatoes
- 1 volcano – 2 volcanoes
- 1 hero – 2 heroes
- 1 potato – 2 potatoes
There are some exceptions to this rule:
- photo – photos
- piano – pianos
Notice how nouns that end in a VOWEL + O, we just add an -S:
- zoo – zoos
- radio – radios
- stereo – stereos
- kangaroo – kangaroos
Irregular Plural Nouns in English
There are some nouns that have very irregular plural nouns and that don’t have an S at the end.
Some common irregular plural nouns in English are:
- 1 man – 2 men
- 1 child – 2 children (See this lesson: Child vs. Children)
- 1 foot – 2 feet
- 1 tooth – 2 teeth
- 1 mouse – 2 mice
- 1 person – 2 people
Irregular Plural Nouns that don’t change in English
Some other irregular plural nouns are the words that do NOT change in plural form.
For example with the word sheep.
We say 1 sheep and 2 sheep …there is no change between the singular and plural form.
We do not say sheeps … no, there is no S at the end.
- 1 sheep – 2 sheep
- 1 deer – 2 deer
- 1 fish – 2 fish … yes, this is correct. (See this lesson: The plural of FISH – Fish or Fishes?)
- 1 series – 2 series
- 1 species – 2 species
You can see there is no change.
There are many more irregular plural nouns and you can see more examples on our grammar website.
Plural Nouns English Summary Chart
Next activities
Pronunciation Rules:
You might be interested in the Pronunciation of -S at the end of words in English. (Includes a video to hear the pronunciation)
Grammar Games:
Try our interactive games to practice plural nouns (both regular and irregular): Plural Nouns
Parent / English Teacher Resource
Plural Nouns Charts – Regular & Irregular Nouns in English:
