Countable Singular/Plural Nouns Table
Most countable nouns are made plural by adding the letter "s".
one boy / two or more boys
one cup / two or more cups
one building / two or more buildings
one book / two or more books
one dog / two or more dogs
one house / two or more houses
one hour / two or more hours
one horse / two or more horses
one sweet / two or more sweets
Some countable nouns are made plural differently. Nouns that end in a "hissing" or "sh" or "ch" sound are made plural by adding "es".
one brush / two or more brushes
one box / two or more boxes
one church / two or more churches
one inch / two or more inches
one match / two or more matches
*Note that "stomach" is made plural by adding "s" NOT "es" though it ends in "ch" because "ch" is pronounced a "k" sound. Therefore, the plural form of "stomach" is "stomachs" NOT "stomaches".
Some nouns that end in "o" are made plural by adding "es".
one potato / two or more potatoes
one cargo / two or more cargoes
one tomato / two or more tomatoes
one hero / two or more heroes
one mosquito / two or more mosquitoes
Some nouns that end in "o", however, are made plural by adding "s" not "es".
one radio / two or more radios
one photo / two or more photos
one piano / two or more pianos
one dynamo / two or more dynamos
Some nouns that end in "f" or "fe" are generally made plural by changing the "f" or "fe" to "ves".
one leaf / two or more leaves
one half / two or more halves
one knife / two or more knives
one wolf / two or more wolves
one loaf / two or more loaves
one thief / two or more thieves
one wife / two or more wives
one calf / two or more calves
Some nouns that end in "f" are made plural by adding "s", NOT changing "f" to "ves".
one roof / two or more roofs
one curry puff / two or more curry puffs
one chef / two or more chefs
one handcuff / two or more handcuffs
Some nouns that end in "f" are made plural by either adding "s" or changing ''f" to "ves".
one handkerchief / two or more handkerchiefs or handkerchieves
one hoof / two or more hoofs or hooves
one scarf / two or more scarfs or scarves
Some nouns that end in "y" are made plural by changing the "y" to "ies".
one baby / two or more babies
one army / two or more armies
one lady / two or more ladies
one city / two or more cities
one salary / two or more salaries
one university / two or more universities
one copy / two or more copies
one butterfly / two or more butterflies
one photocopy / two or more photocopies
one gallery / two or more galleries
one company / two or more companies
one country / two or more countries
*Note that the rule of changing "y" to "ies" is only applicable to nouns having a consonant before the letter "y". For nouns like monkey, key, donkey, day, we do not change "y" to "ies" because the letter before "y" is a vowel. Simply add the letter "s" to make them plural.
one monkey / two or more monkeys
one day / two or more days
one donkey / two or more donkeys
one key / two or more keys
one guy / two or more guys
one jockey / two or more jockeys
Many countable nouns do not follow any of the above rules, and we come across them very often. Here are some of the most common nouns that either change in spelling or do not change in spelling when they are written in the plural form.
change in spelling
one man / two or more men
one woman / two or more women
one foot / two or more feet
one ox / two or more oxen
one larva / two or more larvae
one bacterium / two or more bacteria
one oasis / two or more oases
one child / two or more children
one tooth / two or more teeth
one mouse / two or more mice
one radius / two or more radii
one goose / two or more geese
one criterion / two or more criteria
*Note that there are two nouns that do not change in spelling, but are added with the letter "s" to get their plural form, though they have "man" in them.
one talisman / two or more talismans (talismen X)
one walkman / two or more walkmans (walkmen X)
do not change in spelling
one sheep / two or more sheep
one fish / two or more fish
one salmon / two or more salmon
one offspring / two or more offspring
one deer / two or more deer
one TV series / two or more series
one species / two or more species
Some nouns are hyphenated. They consist of two or more words separated by a hyphen (-). To make a hyphenated noun plural, add "s" to its first word.
one passer-by / two or more passers-by
one sister-in-law / two or more sisters-in-law
one brother-in-law / two or more brothers-in-law
one looker-on / two or more lookers-on
*Note that when you make "in-law" plural, you add "s" to the word "law" like this:
They always visit their in-laws on the first day of the Chinese New Year.
There is a noun whose last letter has to be repeated before adding "es" for its plural form. This noun is quiz.
one Science quiz / two or more Science quizzes
Click on grammar Articles for other kinds of grammar.
one boy / two or more boys
one cup / two or more cups
one building / two or more buildings
one book / two or more books
one dog / two or more dogs
one house / two or more houses
one hour / two or more hours
one horse / two or more horses
one sweet / two or more sweets
Some countable nouns are made plural differently. Nouns that end in a "hissing" or "sh" or "ch" sound are made plural by adding "es".
one brush / two or more brushes
one box / two or more boxes
one church / two or more churches
one inch / two or more inches
one match / two or more matches
*Note that "stomach" is made plural by adding "s" NOT "es" though it ends in "ch" because "ch" is pronounced a "k" sound. Therefore, the plural form of "stomach" is "stomachs" NOT "stomaches".
Some nouns that end in "o" are made plural by adding "es".
one potato / two or more potatoes
one cargo / two or more cargoes
one tomato / two or more tomatoes
one hero / two or more heroes
one mosquito / two or more mosquitoes
Some nouns that end in "o", however, are made plural by adding "s" not "es".
one radio / two or more radios
one photo / two or more photos
one piano / two or more pianos
one dynamo / two or more dynamos
Some nouns that end in "f" or "fe" are generally made plural by changing the "f" or "fe" to "ves".
one leaf / two or more leaves
one half / two or more halves
one knife / two or more knives
one wolf / two or more wolves
one loaf / two or more loaves
one thief / two or more thieves
one wife / two or more wives
one calf / two or more calves
Some nouns that end in "f" are made plural by adding "s", NOT changing "f" to "ves".
one roof / two or more roofs
one curry puff / two or more curry puffs
one chef / two or more chefs
one handcuff / two or more handcuffs
Some nouns that end in "f" are made plural by either adding "s" or changing ''f" to "ves".
one handkerchief / two or more handkerchiefs or handkerchieves
one hoof / two or more hoofs or hooves
one scarf / two or more scarfs or scarves
Some nouns that end in "y" are made plural by changing the "y" to "ies".
one baby / two or more babies
one army / two or more armies
one lady / two or more ladies
one city / two or more cities
one salary / two or more salaries
one university / two or more universities
one copy / two or more copies
one butterfly / two or more butterflies
one photocopy / two or more photocopies
one gallery / two or more galleries
one company / two or more companies
one country / two or more countries
*Note that the rule of changing "y" to "ies" is only applicable to nouns having a consonant before the letter "y". For nouns like monkey, key, donkey, day, we do not change "y" to "ies" because the letter before "y" is a vowel. Simply add the letter "s" to make them plural.
one monkey / two or more monkeys
one day / two or more days
one donkey / two or more donkeys
one key / two or more keys
one guy / two or more guys
one jockey / two or more jockeys
Many countable nouns do not follow any of the above rules, and we come across them very often. Here are some of the most common nouns that either change in spelling or do not change in spelling when they are written in the plural form.
change in spelling
one man / two or more men
one woman / two or more women
one foot / two or more feet
one ox / two or more oxen
one larva / two or more larvae
one bacterium / two or more bacteria
one oasis / two or more oases
one child / two or more children
one tooth / two or more teeth
one mouse / two or more mice
one radius / two or more radii
one goose / two or more geese
one criterion / two or more criteria
*Note that there are two nouns that do not change in spelling, but are added with the letter "s" to get their plural form, though they have "man" in them.
one talisman / two or more talismans (talismen X)
one walkman / two or more walkmans (walkmen X)
do not change in spelling
one sheep / two or more sheep
one fish / two or more fish
one salmon / two or more salmon
one offspring / two or more offspring
one deer / two or more deer
one TV series / two or more series
one species / two or more species
Some nouns are hyphenated. They consist of two or more words separated by a hyphen (-). To make a hyphenated noun plural, add "s" to its first word.
one passer-by / two or more passers-by
one sister-in-law / two or more sisters-in-law
one brother-in-law / two or more brothers-in-law
one looker-on / two or more lookers-on
*Note that when you make "in-law" plural, you add "s" to the word "law" like this:
They always visit their in-laws on the first day of the Chinese New Year.
There is a noun whose last letter has to be repeated before adding "es" for its plural form. This noun is quiz.
one Science quiz / two or more Science quizzes
Click on grammar Articles for other kinds of grammar.
By Susan L
On 2/24/2010 10:03:00 PM
1 Comment(s)
View More Articles... On 2/24/2010 10:03:00 PM
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