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Unit 05
Plurals
How to make nouns plural in English
Singular vs. Plural
In English, most nouns have two forms:
- Singular: one person, thing, or place → a car, a book, a child
- Plural: more than one → two cars, several books, three children
- Most plurals just add -s, but there are many spelling rules and irregular forms to learn.
Regular Plurals — Spelling Rules
Most nouns just add -s. The ending of the word tells you when the spelling changes. Note: some words ending in -o just add -s: photos, pianos, radios, videos.
| Rule | Example | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Add -s | car → cars · dog → dogs · pen → pens | Most nouns |
| Add -es | bus → buses · box → boxes · watch → watches | Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -o |
| Change -y → -ies | baby → babies · city → cities | After a consonant + y |
| Just add -s (vowel + y) | boy → boys · key → keys · day → days | When y follows a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) |
| Change -f / -fe → -ves | leaf → leaves · knife → knives · wife → wives | Some nouns ending in -f or -fe |
Pronouncing the -s Ending
The plural -s has three sounds:
- /s/ sound after voiceless sounds → cats, books, cups
- /z/ sound after voiced sounds → dogs, boys, cars
- /ɪz/ sound after -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -z → buses, watches, boxes
Irregular Plurals
These don't follow the regular rules — you must memorise them. The most common ones:
| Singular | Plural | Example |
|---|---|---|
| man | men | Many men work here. |
| woman | women | The women are talking. |
| child | children | Two children are playing. |
| person | people | People are waiting outside. |
| tooth | teeth | Brush your teeth. |
| foot | feet | My feet hurt. |
| mouse | mice | There are mice in the kitchen. |
| goose | geese | Wild geese are flying south. |
| ox | oxen | The oxen pulled the cart. |
Same Form (Singular = Plural)
Note: "fishes" exists, but only when talking about different kinds of fish (e.g., "tropical fishes").
| Word | Example |
|---|---|
| sheep | one sheep, two sheep |
| fish | one fish, many fish |
| deer | one deer, several deer |
| aircraft | one aircraft, three aircraft |
| species | one species, two species |
Uncountable Nouns — NO Plural!
Some nouns can't be counted, so they have NO plural form. Don't add -s. Use some, much, a piece of instead.
| Uncountable | ❌ Wrong | ✅ Correct |
|---|---|---|
| information | informations | some information / a piece of information |
| advice | advices | some advice / a piece of advice |
| furniture | furnitures | some furniture / a piece of furniture |
| equipment | equipments | some equipment |
| money | moneys | some money / a lot of money |
| luggage | luggages | some luggage / a piece of luggage |
Plurals of Compound Nouns
In compound nouns (made of two or more words), only the MAIN noun takes the plural form.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| bookcase | bookcases (regular) |
| passer-by | passers-by |
| mother-in-law | mothers-in-law |
| editor-in-chief | editors-in-chief |
| lookout | lookouts |
Examples
Subject
Verb
Auxiliary
Object
Adjective
Adverb
Preposition
Hover over any word to see its role.
verbThere areadjectivetwosubjectchildrenprepositionin the garden
↳ Irregular plural — child → children
subjectIverbboughtsomeobjecttomatoesprepositionfor dinner
↳ Regular -es plural (tomato → tomatoes)
Thesubjectbabiesverbare sleeping
↳ Consonant + y → -ies
subjectSheverbgaveobjectmeobjectsome advice
↳ Uncountable — no plural form
Common Mistakes
Two childs are outside.
→
Two children are outside.
"Child" has an irregular plural: "children".
I need many informations.
→
I need some information.
"Information" is uncountable — no plural form.
I saw three sheeps.
→
I saw three sheep.
"Sheep" has the same singular and plural form.
She bought many furnitures.
→
She bought a lot of furniture.
"Furniture" is uncountable.
A lot of moneys
→
A lot of money
"Money" is uncountable — never plural.
Passer-bys
→
Passers-by
In compound nouns, pluralise the MAIN noun (passer), not the last word.
Two persons
→
Two people
"Person" → "people" in normal speech. "Persons" is only used in formal/legal contexts.
I have two brother.
→
I have two brothers.
In English the noun is plural after a number bigger than one.
There are many car in the street.
→
There are many cars in the street.
"Many" is followed by a plural noun.
The people is friendly.
→
The people are friendly.
"People" is already plural → are.