1. Singular
and
Plural Nouns
#76

2. To form the plural of most
nouns, add -s:
ski skis
guru gurus
miser misers
banana bananas
menu menus
encyclopedia encyclopedias
breakfast breakfasts
To form the plural of a noun
ending in –y preceded by
vowel, add only an –s.
key keys
ploy ploys
birthday birthdays
jersey jerseys

3. To form the plural of a noun
ending in –y preceded by a
consonant, change the –y to –i
and add –es.
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

4. To form the plural of a noun
ending in –s, -sh, -ch, -z, or x,
add –es:
fax faxes
bonus bonuses
atlas atlases
leash leashes
watch watches
tax taxes
Double the final consonant of
one-syllable words ending in a
single –s or –z preceded by
vowel:
bus buses or busses
quiz quizzes
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
Don’t add –es to a proper noun
ending in –s if the additional
inflection creates a false
pronunciation:
two Mercedes, not two Mercedeses.

5. Dictionaries may differ in their
spelling of words ending in –o:
tornado tornadoes, tornados
memento mementos,
mementoes
halo halos, haloes
mosquito mosquitoes
To form the plural of a noun
ending in–o preceded by a vowel,
add an –s:
stereo stereos
rodeo rodeos
shampoo shampoos
radio radios
To form the plural of some
Nouns ending in –o preceded
by a consonant, add –s:
taco tacos
photo photos
ghetto ghettos
embryo embryos
piano pianos
nouns ending in –o preceded
by a consonant, add –es:
potato potatoes
veto vetoes

6. Some nouns form their plurals
in irregular ways:
ox oxen
child children
man men
woman women
die dice
mouse mice
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:
belief beliefs
roof roofs
sheriff sheriffs
tiff tiffs
half halves
leaf leaves
life lives
shelf shelves
dwarf dwarfs or dwarves
scarf scarfs or scarves

7. To form the plural of some compound nouns, change the last element of the compound:
a three-year-old three-year-olds handful handfuls cease-fire cease-fires madman madmen
With other compound nouns, change the form of the word that’s
clearly the most important:
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

8. Nouns derived from foreign words change their spelling altogether:
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
Nouns derived from foreign words change their spelling altogether:

9. Some nouns don’t change their form:
species
corps
salmon
series
status
hiatus
deer
sheep
means
Chinese
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