Plural nouns
How to make a noun plural, the spelling rules for -s and -es, the common irregular plurals, and nouns that have no plural at all.
When you use it
You use a plural noun when you mean more than one: two books, my friends, the children. English marks the plural on the noun itself, usually with -s, and the verb and the demonstrative agree with it: these books are, not this book is. Most nouns follow one simple rule. A small group of very common nouns is irregular and has to be learned one by one.
How it is formed
| Rule | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| most nouns: add -s | book, pen, day | books, pens, days |
| ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x: add -es | bus, glass, dish, watch, box | buses, glasses, dishes, watches, boxes |
| consonant + -y: change -y to -ies | city, baby, story | cities, babies, stories |
| vowel + -y: add -s | day, key, boy | days, keys, boys |
| many nouns in -f or -fe: change to -ves | knife, leaf, wife | knives, leaves, wives |
| some nouns in -o: add -es | potato, tomato | potatoes, tomatoes |
| irregular | child, man, woman, person, foot, tooth, mouse | children, men, women, people, feet, teeth, mice |
| same form in both | sheep, fish, deer | sheep, fish, deer |
The ending is written -s or -es but it is pronounced in three ways. After a voiceless sound it is /s/: books, cats. After a voiced sound or a vowel it is /z/: pens, days. After a hissing sound (s, sh, ch, x) it is a full extra syllable, /ɪz/: buses, watches. The written -es after -y to -ies is also /z/: cities.
A few nouns exist only in the plural: trousers, jeans, glasses, scissors, clothes. They take a plural verb: my jeans are new. To count them you say a pair of jeans, two pairs of glasses.
Uncountable nouns have no plural form at all. Water, money, information, advice, furniture, news and hair are always singular in English and take a singular verb, even when the idea seems plural. The lesson on countable and uncountable nouns covers these in detail.
Examples
- I bought three books and two pens.
- The buses are late again.
- Anna has two children.
- There are many old cities in this region.
- My feet hurt after the long walk.
- Tom knows a lot of people here.
- The knives are in the top drawer.
- We saw some sheep in the field.
Common mistakes
- ✗ two childs, three mans, my foots
✓ two children, three men, my feet
These nouns do not take -s. Ukrainian and Russian also have irregular plurals that you simply know (людина becomes люди, дитина becomes діти, ребёнок becomes дети), so treat the English list the same way. The irregular plurals are among the most frequent nouns in the language, so the effort pays off quickly. - ✗ Many people is here. The people wants to go home.
✓ Many people are here. The people want to go home.
People is already plural and takes a plural verb. The word looks like a singular noun, and народ in Ukrainian and Russian is singular, so the verb is often wrong. Think of people as люди, not as народ. - ✗ I have many informations. She gave me good advices.
✓ I have a lot of information. She gave me good advice.
Information and advice are uncountable in English and have no plural. In Ukrainian and Russian поради / советы and новини / новости are ordinary countable plurals, which is why the English -s feels natural here. It is always wrong. - ✗ Her hairs are long. He has black hairs.
✓ Her hair is long. He has black hair.
Hair on a person's head is uncountable and singular. Russian волосы is plural and drives the mistake; Ukrainian волосся is singular and matches English. A hair with the plural hairs exists, but it means single separate hairs, for example on a jacket. - ✗ two hundreds people, five thousands euros
✓ two hundred people, five thousand euros
Hundred, thousand and million stay singular after a number. They take -s only in vague amounts with of: hundreds of people, thousands of euros. The Slavic forms сотні / сотни are plural in both cases, so the singular after a number has to be remembered.
Try it
- one child, two ___
- one box, three ___
- one city, many ___
- one tooth, all my ___
- one leaf, the ___ on the tree