Forming plurals of count nouns

Forming plurals of count nouns

R2 Information on which nouns have plurals is given in Chapter 1 (1.14 to 1.193).

R3 In most cases, the plural is written 's'.

hat => hats

tree => trees

R4 The plural is written 'es' after 'sh', 'ss', 'x', or 's', and it is pronounced /ɪz

bush => bushes

glass => glasses

box => boxes

bus => buses

The plural is also written 'es' and pronounced /ɪz/ after 'ch', when 'ch' is pronounced /

church => churches

match => matches

speech => speeches

R5 When the 's' follows one of the sounds /f/, /k/, /p/, /t/ or / /, it is pronounced /s/.

belief => beliefs

week => weeks

cap => caps

pet => pets

moth => moths

R6 When the 's' follows one of the sounds /s/, /z/, or / /, it is pronounced /ɪz

service => services

prize => prizes

age => ages

R7 Some nouns which end with the sound / /, for example 'mouth', have their plural forms pronounced as ending in /z/. With others, such as 'bath' and 'path' the pronunciation can be either /Ɵs/ or /z/. You may need to check the pronunciations of words like these in a Cobuild dictionary.

R8 In most other cases the 's' is pronounced /z/.

bottle => bottles

degree => degrees

doctor => doctors

idea => ideas

leg => legs

system => systems

tab => tabs

R9 With nouns which end in a consonant letter followed by 'y', you substitute 'ies' for 'y' to form the plural.

country => countries

lady => ladies

opportunity => opportunities

With nouns which end in a vowel fetter followed by 'y', you just add 's' to form the plural.

boy => boys

day => days

valley => valleys

R10 There are a few nouns ending in 'f' or 'fe' where you form the plural by substituting 'ves' for 'f' or 'fe'.

R11 With many nouns which end in 'o', you just add 's' to form the plural.

photo => photos

radio => radios

However, the following nouns ending in 'o' have plurals ending in 'oes':

The following nouns ending in 'o' have plurals which can end in either 's' or 'es':

R12 The following nouns in English have special plural forms, usually with different vowel sounds from their singular forms:

R13 Most nouns which refer to people and which end with 'man', 'woman', or 'child' have plural forms ending with 'men', 'women', or 'children'.

postman => postmen

Englishman => Englishwomen

grandchild => grandchildren

R14 In addition to the nouns mentioned above, there are words which are borrowed from other languages, especially Latin, and which still form their plurals according to the rules of those languages. Many of them are technical or formal, and some are also used with a regular 's' or 'es' plural ending in non-technical or informal contexts. You may need to check these in a Cobuild dictionary.

R15 Some nouns ending in 'us' have plurals ending in 'i'.

focus => foci

nucleus => nuclei

radius => radii

stimulus => stimuli

R16 Some nouns ending in 'um' have plurals ending in 'a'.

aquarium => aquaria

memorandum => memoranda

referendum => referenda

spectrum => spectra

stratum => strata

R17 Most nouns ending in 'is' have plurals in which the 'is' is replaced by 'es'.

R18 With some nouns ending in 'a', the plurals are formed by adding 'e'.

larva => larvae

vertebra => vertebrae

Some, such as 'antenna', 'formula', 'amoeba', and 'nebula', also have less formal plurals ending in 's'.

R19 Other nouns form their plurals in other ways. Some of these have two plural forms, one formed with 's' and one formed in a different way. Usually the form with 's' is used in less formal English.