An explanation of noun plurals in English

1. NOUN PLURALS
Most nouns are made plural by adding ‘s’ to the end of the word:
Table = tables
Bed = beds
Book = books
Girl = girls
However, there are exceptions:
1. Nouns that end –ch, -sh, -s, -z, -x add ‘es’:
Church = churches
Wish = wishes
Bus = buses
Waltz = waltzes
Box = boxes
2. If a noun ends in a ‘y’ and the letter before it is a consonant, change
the ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘es’ (if the noun ends in ‘y’ and the letter before is
a vowel, just add ‘s’: boy = boys, day = days)
Baby = babies
Country = countries
3. Most nouns that end in ‘f’ or ‘fe’ change to ‘ves’ (however, there are
exceptions: roof = roofs, belief = beliefs)
Thief = thieves
Loaf = loaves
Life = lives
Knife = knives

2. 4. If the noun ends in ‘o’, we usually add ‘es’:
Potato = potatoes
Hero = heroes
Volcano = volcanoes
However, there are a lot of exceptions that end in just ‘s’
Photo = photos
Piano = pianos
Video = videos
Some can be both
Zero = zeros or zeroes
Irregulars
Man = men
Woman = women (pronunciation ‘wimen’)
Child = children
Person = people
Foot = feet
Tooth = teeth
Mouse = mice
Some nouns don’t change in the plural:
Fish = fish
Sheep = sheep
Species = species
Deer = deer