A Helpful Resource

Irregular Plurals

The vast majority of nouns in the English language are made plural by adding an "s" or "es" to the end of the word. For example, book, apple, house, table, door, cat, bush, boss are just some of the millions of words that become plural with the simple addition of an "s" (books, apples, houses, tables, doors, cats, bushes, bosses). However, certain nouns have "irregular" plurals which do not behave in this standard way.

Regular Plurals

For most nouns, the general rule for making the word plural is:

If the word ends in s, x, ch or sh, add an "es"

Bless + es = blesses

Box + es = boxescatch + es = catchesDish + es = dishesIf the word ends in a consonant (all letters except a, e, i, o, u) + y, then change the "y" to an "i" and add the letters "es"Baby = Babies

Candy = candies

For all other non-irregular nouns, simply add an "s" to the end of the wordCat = catsDog = dogsKid = kidsIrregular Plurals

Certain words do not follow the above rules for regular plurals. There are some common types of irregular plurals that occur, and some words simply have no plural form at all.

While it is useful to memorize the common irregular plurals, for many words you simply have to know and understand that it is an irregular plural as a result of speaking and hearing English.

Non-Count Nouns

Non-count nouns, also called , have no plural form because they are assumed to be plural. Most are non-count nouns. Some examples are:

HairGrassMudDress (when referring to a style of dress, not when referring to a clothing item that hangs in your closet)

If you are talking about multiple varieties or types of these irregular plurals, you cannot make them plural by adding an "s" or "es" to the end. Instead, you need to make them plural by adding a descriptive phrase. For example:

There are many different styles of hairThere are several varieties of grassThere are three different kinds of mudThe ancient people had a few types of styles of dressUnchanging Nouns

Certain other nouns have the same plural form as singular form. A large number of animals happen to follow this rule. For example, among others:

Deer is "deer" whether singular or pluralFish is "fish" whether singular or pluralBison is "bison" whether singular or pluralMoose is "moose" whether singular or pluralElk is "elk" whether singular or plural. Other Irregular Plurals

In addition to non-count nouns and unchanging nouns, there are several different types of irregular plurals which follow a pattern in the English language.

For words that end in "fe," you change the letter "f" to the letter "v" and then add "s"Knife = knivesWife = wivesFor words that end in "f" you change the "f" to a "v" and add "es"Half = halvesLoaf = loavesFor words that end in "us," change the "us" to an "i"Syllabus = syallabiFor words that end in "o" add "es"Tomato = tomatoesWords that Change Form

Certain words do not add a letter to the end, but instead change the word itself. These words simply need to be memorized. Some examples include:

Man to menPerson to peopleTooth to teethGoose to geese

The best way to learn and understand irregular plurals is to practice speaking the English language, to read a great deal, to pay attention to words and phrases that you see and hear and to assemble a list of words with irregular plurals so you can begin to understand how to make each noun plural correctly.