Forming Plurals of Regular English Nouns
Suffixation to Create Plural Nouns in the English Language
Sep 28, 2009 Heather Marie Kosur
Prototypical English nouns have both singular and plural forms. Singular nouns reference one "person, place, thing, or idea" while plural nouns reference two or more "people, places, things, or ideas." The following sections explain how to form and pronounce the plural forms of regular English nouns.
Forming Regular Plural Nouns
To form the plural of most nouns in English, simply add the suffix -s to the end of the noun. For example, the following list includes the singular and plural of some common English nouns:
- dog – dogs
- movie – movies
- pumpkin – pumpkins
- tree – trees
For nouns that end in an -s, -z, -x, -ch, or -sh, add the suffix -es to the end of the noun. For example:
- ash – ashes
- box – boxes
- church – churches
- watch – watches
For nouns spelled with a final y preceded by a consonant, change the y to an i and then add the -es suffix. For example:
- baby – babies
- cherry – cherries
- fly – flies
- party – parties
For most nouns spelled with a final f or fe, change the f or fe to a ve and then add the –s suffix. For examples:
- knife – knives
- life – lives
- self – selves
- wife – wives
Nouns Ending in -O
For nouns spelled with a final o preceded by a vowel, simply add the -s suffix. For example:
- duo – duos
- radio – radios
- stereo – stereos
- studio – studios
For nouns of foreign origin including most musical terms that end with an o, also add the -s suffix. For example:
- kimono – kimonos
- piano – pianos
- solo – solos
- taco – tacos
For most nouns spelled with a final o preceded by a consonant, add the -es suffix. For example:
- echo – echoes
- hero – heroes
- potato – potatoes
- tomato – tomatoes
Some nouns spelled with a final o preceded by a consonant take either the -s or the -es suffix. For example:
- avocado – avocados/avocadoes
- ghetto – ghettos/ghettoes
- hobo – hobos/hoboes
- tornado – tornados/tornadoes
Pronouncing Regular Plural Nouns
Although all regular English nouns take either an -s or -es suffix in the plural, the suffix is pronounced differently depending on the last sound of the noun. For nouns that end in an [s] (s, se, ce), [z] (z, ze), [š] (sh), [c] (ch), or [j] (j, dge) sound, then the plural suffix is pronounced as [ez] (es). For example:
- face – faces
- judge – judges
- purse – purses
- squash – squashes
For nouns that end in a voiceless [p] (p, pe), [t] (t, tt, te), [k] (k, ck, ke), [f] (f, gh), [θ] (th), [h] (h), or [j] (y) sound, then the plural suffix is pronounced as [s] (s). For example:
- cake – cakes
- cup – cups
- fruit – fruits
- graph – graphs
For nouns that end in a voiced [m] (m, me), [n] (n, ne), [ng] (ng), [b (b, be), [d] (d), [g] (g, ge), [v] (v, ve), [ð] (th), [w] (w), [r] (r, re), or [l] (l, ll, le) sound or any vowel sound, then the plural suffix is pronouns as [z] (z). For example:
- brother – brothers
- circle – circles
- phone – phones
- toy – toys
Regular English nouns take either an -s or -es suffix in the plural. Both native speakers and ESL students must learn the plural form of regular nouns in English in order to talk or write about two or more people, places, things, or ideas.
For more information on how to use nouns in phrases and clauses, please read The Noun Phrase in English: Describing Nouns with Determinatives, Modifiers, and Complements and English Nouns and Noun Phrases: The Ten Functions of Nouns in English Grammar.
Sources
Hopper, Paul J. A Short Course in Grammar. W.W. Norton & Company: New York, 1999.
Huddleston, Rodney. Introduction to the Grammar of English. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1984.
Regular Plural Nouns
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