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Regular plurals
A plural noun indicates that there is more than one of that noun (while a singular noun indicates that there is just one of the noun). Most plural forms are created by simply adding an ‘-s’ or ‘–es’ to the end of the singular word. For example, there’s one dog (singular), but three dogs (plural). However, English has both regular and irregular plural nouns. Regular plurals follow this rule (and other similar rules), but irregular plurals are, well, not regular and don’t follow a “standard” rule.
Recognize nouns marked with plural form ‘–s’.
As was mentioned earlier, we add the plural suffix ‘–s’ to most words:
cat → cats
bear → bears
zebra → zebras
However, after sounds ‘s’, ‘z’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’, and ‘j’, we add the plural suffix ‘–es’:
class → classes
sash → sashes
fox → foxes
After the letter ‘o’.
We also add the plural suffix ‘–es’ to most words that end in ‘o’:
potato → potatoes
hero → heroes
mosquito → mosquitoes
However, when the words have a foreign origin (e.g.,Latin, Greek, Spanish), we just add the plural suffix ‘–s’
taco → tacos
avocado → avocados
maestro → maestros
After ‘–y’ and ‘–f’, ‘–fe’
When a word ends in ‘y’ and there is a consonant before ‘y’, we change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘–es’.
sky → skies
candy → candies
lady → ladies
However, if the ‘y’ follows another vowel, you simply add an ‘–s’.
alloy → alloys
donkey → donkeys
day → days
Irregular plurals
Irregular plurals, unlike regular plurals, don’t necessarily follow any particular pattern—instead, they follow a lot of different patterns. Because of this, irregular plurals require a lot of memorization; you need to remember which nouns belong to which type of pluralization. Mastering irregulars uses a different region of your brain than regular pluralization: it’s an entirely different skill set than regular pluralization. So don’t get too frustrated if you can’t remember the correct plural. If you’re ever in doubt, the dictionary is there for you.
No Change (Base Plurals)
The first kind of irregular plural we’ll talk about is the no-change or base plural. In these words, the singular noun has the exact same form as the plural. Most no-change plurals are types of animals:
sheep
fish
deer
moose
Mid-Word Vowel Change
In a few words, the mid-word vowels are changed to form the plural. This video lists all seven of these words and their plurals.
Plural ‘–en’
And lastly we have the plural ‘–en’. In these words ‘–en’ is used as the plural ending instead of ‘–s’ or ‘-es’.
child → children
ox → oxen
brother → brethren
sister → sistren
Borrowed Words ‘–i’, ‘–en’, ‘–a’, ‘–es’, ‘–ae’
The last category of irregular plurals is borrowed words. These words are native to other languages (e.g., Latin, Greek) and have retained the pluralization rules from their original tongue.
Singular ‘–us’; Plural ‘–i’
cactus → cacti
fungus → fungi
syllabus → syllabi
In informal speech, cactuses and funguses are acceptable. Octopuses is preferred to octopi, but octopi is an accepted word.
Singular ‘-a’; Plural ‘–ae’
formula → formulae (sometimes formulas)
vertebra → vertebrae
larva → larvae
Singular ‘–ix’, ‘–ex’; Plural ‘–ices’, ‘–es’
appendix → appendices (sometimes appendixes)
index → indices
Singular –on, –um; Plural –a
criterion → criteria
bacterium → bacteria
medium → media
Singular –is; Plural –es
analysis → analyses
crisis → crises
thesis → theses
Sometimes singular and plural forms of a word have different meanings. Observe the following examples.
Advice- Counsel
Advices- notice (of financial transaction)
Arm- limb
Arms- weapons
Asset- quality
Assets- properties
Blind- without vision
Blinds- window screen
Compass- extent or range
Compasses- instrument
Colour- hue
Colours- flag
Custom- habit
Customs- duties levied on
Fruit- natural edible
Fruits- gains
Iron- metal
Irons- fetters made of irons
Mean- average
Means- way or method
Physic- medicine
Physics- natural science
Exercises
1. Answer the following questions.
a. What is a regular plural? Give examples.
b. What is an irregular plural? Give examples.
c. What is the difference between regular and irregular plurals?
2. Change singular to plural and plural to singular:
Car, knives, pencil, box, children, baby, story, lady, lives, man, boy, cat, dish, woman, nun, dog, army
