Singular and plural forms of nouns

1. Nouns with regular pronunciation and spelling:

а) -s after most nouns: a cat – cats, a dog – dogs, a note – notes;

b) -es after nouns ending in -o: a tomato – tomatoes [iz];

-s: a bus – buses [iz];

-x: a fox – foxes [iz];

-ch: a bench – benches [iz];

-sh: a dish – dishes [iz];

с) -s after vowel + -y: a day – days; consonant + -y becomes -ies: a lady – ladies [iz];

d) proper nouns ending in -y add -s in the plural: Kennedy – the Kennedys, Sly – the Slys;

e) the ending of the following nouns is pronounced [z] in the plural: a house – houses [hauziz], baths, mouths, oaths, paths, truths, wreaths, youths.

2. Nouns with irregular pronunciation and spelling:

a) the following nouns are all spelt with -ves in the plural [vz]: a calf – calves, an elf – elves, a half – halves, a knife – knives, a leaf – leaves, (a) life – lives, a loaf – loaves, self – selves, a sheaf – sheaves, a shelf –shelves, a thief – thieves, a wife – wives, a wolf – wolves;

b) the following nouns have regular and irregular plural spelling and pronunciation: a dwarf – dwarfs (dwarves), a hoof – hoofs (hooves), a scarf – scarfs (scarves), a wharf – wharfs (wharves);

c) the following nouns have regular spelling, but both regular and irregular pronunciation in the plural [fs] or [vz], roofs, handkerchiefs.

3. Internal vowel change:

a) the following nouns form their plurals by changing the internal vowel(s): a foot – feet, a goose – geese, a tooth – teeth, a louse – lice, a mouse – mice, a man – men, a woman – women;

b) compound nouns formed with -man\-woman as a suffix form their plurals with -men\-women: a policeman – policemen, an Englishman – Englishmen, but note: a German – Germans, a Roman – Romans, a Norman – Normans;

c) some survivals from the past form their plurals with -en: a brother – brethren, a child – children, an ox – oxen. Brethren is used in religious context; otherwise brothers is the normal plural of a brother;

d) a penny can have a regular plural of pennies when we are referring to separate coins (ten pennies) or a collective plural, pence, when we are referring to a total amount (tenpence).

4. The plural of nouns ending in -o:

a) many nouns ending in -o are spelt -oes in the plural: a hero – heroes, a potato – potatoes, a Negro – Negroes;

b) the following nouns are spelt with -oes or -os: a buffalo, a cargo, a grotto, a commando, a halo, a mosquito, a tornado, a volcano;

c) the following nouns have plurals spelt with -os:

• nouns ending in vowel + -o or -oo: zoos, radios;

• proper nouns: Eskimos, Filipinos;

• Italian musical terms: pianos, solos;

• abbreviations: kilos, photos.

5. Nouns with the same singular and plural forms

Some nouns do not change in form. They are:

a) names of certain animals, birds and fish: a deer – deer, a fish – fish, a grouse – grouse, a mackerel – mackerel, a plaice – plaice, a salmon – salmon, a sheep – sheep, a trout – trout;

This deer is young. These deer are young.

His goldfish has died. (one) His goldfish have died. (some)

But some names of fish, etc., can form a regular plural: These herrings (or herring) are tasty.

We use fishes when we refer to species of fish: You can see many kinds of fishes in that market.

b) some nouns describing nationalities: a Swiss, a Chinese, a Vietnamese;

She is a Chinese girl. The Chinese are very polite.

с) a craft – craft (aircraft/hovercraft/spacecraft) and a counsel – counsel (= legal adviser, barrister):

The craft was sunk. All the craft were sunk.

There is a counsel there. There are counsel there.