1. PLURAL NOUNS
A la mayoría de nombres se les agrega una "-s" al final para formar el plural.
• camera / cameras (cámara/s) pen / pens (bolígrafo/s)
• house / houses (casa/s) car / cars (coche/s)
Excepciones:
1. Palabras que terminan en consonante + "y": la "y" cambia a "i" y añadimos "es".
• party / parties (fiesta/s) city / cities (ciudad/es)
2. Palabras que terminan en vocal + "y": añadimos una "s".
• boy / boys (chico/s) toy / toys (juguete/s)
3. Palabras que terminan en "s", "ss", "sh", "ch", "x", "o": añadimos "es".
• bus / buses (bus/es) glass / glasses (copa/s)
• brush / brushes (cepillo/s) watch / watches (reloj/es)
• box / boxes (caja/s) tomato / tomatoes (tomate/s)
4. Palabras que terminan en "f" o "fe": cambiamos la "f" o "fe" por "ves".
• leaf / leaves (hoja/s) wife / wives (esposa/s)
Irregular Plural Nouns (Plurales irregulares)
Muchos sustantivos se pluralizan de un modo irregular. Existen dos casos:
1. Cuando el singular y plural no cambian.
• fish (pez o pescado) sheep (oveja)
2. Cuando el plural varía de modo irregular. Por lo tanto, no existe regla la cual se pueda seguir y hay que
aprenderse las formas irregulares de cada uno.
• Man / men Woman / women
• Child / children Person /people
• Tooth / teeth Foot / feet
• Mouse /mice
Plural Nouns
When you refer to more than one noun, you use the plural form of that noun.
The plural of a noun is usually formed by adding an 's' at the end of the word. For example: the plural of cat is cats; the
plural of flower is flowers, and the plural of computer is computers.
2. If the word ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh, the plural is usually formed by adding 'es.' This is because when you add an 's' to
the end of these words, you have to add an extra syllable to the the word in order to prounounce it. For example: the
plural of boss is bosses, the plural of box is boxes, the plural of buzz is buzzes, the plural of lunch is lunches, and the
plural of brush is brushes.
Not all plurals end in 's' or 'es'. Irregular nouns are those that do not use the regular plural ending. The following are
some irregular plurals.
Type of Noun
Rule for
Forming the
Plural
Examples Exceptions
Word ends in
s, x, ch, or sh
Add 'es' to
the end
arch/arches, atlas/atlases, ax/axes,
bash/bashes, bench/benches, bias/biases,
botch/botches, box/boxes, brush/brushes,
bunch/bunches, bus/buses, bush/bushes,
canvas/canvases, catch/catches,
church/churches, class/classes,
compass/compasses, crash/crashes,
cross/crosses, dais/daises, dish/dishes,
dress/dresses, equinox/equinoxes,
etch/etches, fetch/fetches, fix/fixes,
fox/foxes, gas/gases, grass/grasses,
itch/itches, kiss/kisses, larch/larches,
lash/lashes, latch/latches, mantis/mantises,
march/marches, marsh/marshes,
mash/mashes, mass/masses,
match/matches, moss/mosses, mix/mixes,
pass/passes, patch/patches, pox/poxes,
radish/radishes, sash/sashes,
sketch/sketches, starch/starches,
stitch/stitches, tax/taxes, touch/touches,
trash/trashes, twitch/twitches,
vehicle/vehicles, wish/wishes,
witch/witches, wrench/wrenches
axis/axes, ox/oxen
Word ends in
z
Add 'zes' to
the end
buzz/buzzes, fizz/fizzes, klutz/klutzes,
quiz/quizzes, topaz/topazes, waltz/waltzes
Ending in 'y'
preceded by
a vowel
Add an 's'
alley/alleys, attorney/attorneys,
essay/essays, boy/boys, delay/delays,
guy/guys, jay/jays, key/keys,
osprey/ospreys, play/plays, ray/rays,
stray/strays, toy/toys, tray/trays,
turkey/turkeys, valley/valleys, way/ways
Ending in 'y'
preceded by
a consonant
Change the
final 'y' to 'ies'
ally/allies, army/armies, baby/babies,
beauty/beauties, berry/berries,
cherry/cherries, city/cities, colony/colonies,
country/countries, dictionary/dictionaries,
3. duty/duties, enemy/enemies, fairy/fairies,
family/families, ferry/ferries, fly/flies,
gallery/galleries, history/histories,
injury/injuries, jelly/jellies, kitty/kitties,
lady/ladies, lily/lilies, navy/navies,
history/histories, party/parties,
pony/ponies, reply/replies,
secretary/secretaries, sky/skies, spy/spies,
story/stories, study/studies,
symphony/symphonies, theory/theories,
trophy/trophies, try/tries,
university/universities, variety/varieties,
victory/victories
Ends with 'f'
or 'fe' (but
not 'ff' or
'ffe')
Change the 'f'
or 'fe' to 'ves'
calf/calves, elf/elves, half/halves,
hoof/hooves, knife/knives, leaf/leaves,
life/lives, loaf/loaves, knife/knives,
loaf/loaves, scarf/scarves, self/selves,
shelf/shelves, wife/wives, wolf/wolves
belief/beliefs, chef/chefs, chief/chiefs,
dwarf/dwarfs, grief/griefs, gulf/gulfs,
handkerchief/handkerchiefs,
kerchief/kerchiefs, mischief/mischiefs,
muff/muffs, oaf/oafs, proof/proofs,
roof/roofs, safe/safes, turf/turfs
Ends with 'o' Add 'es'
buffalo/buffaloes, cargo/cargoes,
echo/echoes, embargo/embargoes,
grotto/grottoes, hero/heroes,
mosquito/mosquitoes, motto/mottoes,
potato/potatoes, tomato/tomatoes,
torpedo/torpedoes, veto/vetoes,
volcano/volcanoes, zero/zeroes
albino/albinos, armadillo/armadillos,
auto/autos, cameo/cameos, cello/cellos,
combo/combos, duo/duos, ego/egos,
folio/folios, halo/halos, inferno/infernos,
lasso/lassos, memento/mementos,
memo/memos, piano/pianos, photo/photos,
portfolio/portfolios, pro/pros, silo/silos,
solo/solos, stereo/stereos, studio/studios,
taco/tacos, tattoo/tattoos, tuxedo/tuxedos,
typo/typos, veto/vetoes, video/videos,
yo/yos, zoo/zoos
Irregular Variable
child/children, die/dice, foot/feet,
goose/geese, louse/lice, man/men,
mouse/mice, ox/oxen, person/people,
that/those, this/these, tooth/teeth,
woman/women
Ends with 'is'
(from a Greek
root)
Change final
'is' to 'es'
analysis/analyses, axis/axes, basis/bases,
crisis/crises, ellipsis/ellipses,
hypotheses/hypothesis, neurosis/neuroses,
oasis/oases, paralysis/paralyses,
parenthesis/parentheses,
synopsis/synopses, synthesis/syntheses,
thesis/theses
Ends with 'us'
(if the word is
from the
Change final
'us' to 'i'
alumnus/alumni, bacillus/bacilli,
cactus/cacti, focus/foci, fungus/fungi,
locus/loci, nucleus/nuclei, radius/radii,
abacus/abacuses, crocus/crocuses,
genus/genera, octopus/octopuses (not
octopi, since octopus is from the Greek
4. Latin)
stimulus/stimuli, syllabus/syllabi,
terminus/termini, torus/tori
language), rhombus/rhombuses,
walrus/walruses
Ends with
'um'
Change final
'um' to 'a'
bacterium/bacteria, curriculum/curricula,
datum/data, erratum/errata,
gymnasium/gymnasia, medium/media,
memorandum/memoranda, ovum/ova,
stratum/strata
album/albums, stadium/stadiums
Ends with 'a'
but not 'ia'
(from a Latin
root)
Change final
'a' to 'ae'
alga/algae, alumna/alumnae,
antenna/antennae, larva/larvae,
nebula/nebulae, pupa/pupae (or pupas),
vertebra/vertebrae, vita/vitae
agenda/agendas, alfalfa/alfalfas,
aurora/auroras, banana/bananas,
barracuda/barracudas, cornea/corneas,
nova/novas, phobia/phobias
Ends with
'on' (from a
Greek root --
not 'tion')
Change final
'on' to 'a'
automaton/automata, criterion/criteria,
phenomenon/phenomena,
polyhedron/polyhedra
balloon/balloons, carton/cartons and many,
many others
Ends with 'ex'
Change final
'ex' to 'ices'
vertex/vertices, vortex/vortices
annex/annexes, complex/complexes,
duplex/duplexes, hex/hexes, index/indexes
or indices
Unchanging
Singular and
plural are the
same
advice, aircraft, bison, corn, deer,
equipment , evidence, fish (sometimes),
gold, information, jewelry, kin, legislation,
luck, luggage, moose, music, offspring,
sheep, silver, swine, trousers, trout, wheat
Only the
plural exists
Unchanging
barracks, bellows, cattle, congratulations,
deer, dregs, eyeglasses, gallows,
headquarters, mathematics, means,
measles, mumps, news, oats, pants, pliers,
pajamas, scissors, series, shears, shorts,
species, tongs, tweezers, vespers
Compound
nouns
The plural
ending is
usually added
to the main
noun
attorney general/attorneys general, bill of
fare/bills of fare, chief of staff/chiefs of staff,
court-martial/courts-martial, daughter-in-
law/daughters-in-law, father-in-law/fathers-
in-law, full moon/full moons, he-man/he-
men, journeyman/journeymen, lady-in-
waiting/ladies-in-waiting, lieutenant
colonel/lieutenant colonels, maid-of-honor,
maids-of-honor, master-at-arms/masters-at-
arms, middle class/middle classes, mother-
in-law/mothers-in-law, post office/post
offices, secretary of state/secretaries of
state, sergeant major/sergeants major, son-
in-law/sons-in-law, passer-by/passers-by,
she-wolf/she-wolves, stepsister/stepsisters,
ten-year-old/ten-year-olds
5. Countable vs. Uncountable Nouns
Did you know that not all nouns are countable in English? Knowing the difference between countable and uncountable
nouns can help you in many areas of English grammar.
Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted. Most nouns in English are countable.
Examples:
• I have two dogs.
• Sandra has three cars.
• Jessie has ten dollars.
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are not counted in English. This usually has to do with the way English speakers think of these
nouns. We often picture these nouns as a single concept or one big thing which is hard to divide. Many of these words
are countable in other languages, but they ARE NOT countable in English. Generally, we do not use plural forms of
these words; however some of these words do end in "s", so don't get confused.
Examples:
• Mack drinks a lot of water.
• Cindy gives great advice.
• Paul enjoys politics. Ends with "s" but uncountable
Uncountable nouns tend to belong to one of the following categories:
Liquids and Gases
• water
• coffee
• milk
• air
• oxygen
Solid and Granular Substances
• wood
6. • metal
• cheese
• sand
• rice
Energy Words and Forces
• electricity
• sunshine
• radiation
• heat
• magnetism
Subjects
• French
• chemistry
• economics
• science
• math
Grouped Concepts
• fruit
• money
• food
• vocabulary
• news
Information and Abstract Concepts
• information
• advice
• education
• democracy
• intelligence
Uncountable Plurals
Sometimes in English, we do use uncountable nouns in plural forms. This is most commonly done with liquids and
substances. It usually takes on the meaning of "cups of", "bottles of" or "types of".
Examples:
7. • We'll have two coffees. Cups of coffee
• I bought three waters. Bottles of water
• The company produces two leathers. Types of leather
Different Meanings
There are certain words which have multiple meanings. It is possible for one meaning to be countable and the other to
be uncountable. Take for example the word "light":
Examples:
• I couldn't see anything because there was no light. Uncountable noun
• The Christmas tree was covered with hundreds of lights. Countable noun
Generally, the rules are still the same. The first use of "light" is a form of energy. The second use of "light" means
"small light bulbs", which are normal countable objects.