Singular and plural nouns 📕

A noun is a word for a person, a thing, an animal or an idea: teacher, car, dog, love.

Most nouns have two forms: singular (one) and plural (two or more).

The main rule: add -s

Add -es after s, ss, sh, ch, x and z

We add -es because it is easier to say. The ending sounds like an extra syllable: bus-es, watch-es.

Consonant + y: change y to -ies

If there is a vowel (a, e, o, u) before the y, just add -s: day → days, boy → boys, key → keys.

Words that end in -f or -fe

Many of these words change f to -ves:

Some words only add -s: roof → roofs, chef → chefs.

Words that end in -o

Some add -es, some add -s:

• potato → potatoes, tomato → tomatoes, hero → heroes
• photo → photos, piano → pianos, radio → radios

Common mistakes

✗ I have two child.

✓ I have two children.

✗ She bought three tomatos.

✓ She bought three tomatoes.

💡 Some nouns are irregular. See the article "Irregular plurals".