PLURAL FORM OF NOUNS ( Part - 5) HOW TO CHANGE SINGULAR NOUNS INTO PLURAL NOUNS

 

V. PLURAL FORM OF NOUNS

A. CHANGING SINGULAR NOUNS INTO PLURAL NOUNS:

1. Most nouns change from singular to plural when -s is added at the end.

Examples:

• Do you own a car?-I own five cars.
• 1 found an apple in the garden. I bought some apples from the market. 
• Roof-roofs, bat-bats, computer-computers, dog-dogs, animal-animals.

2. When a noun ends in -s,-sh,-ch,z,o and :x, the plural is formed by adding -es at the end.

Examples:

Kiss Kisses/ Flash Flashes /Miss Misses/ Bush Bushes/Cross Crosses/Brush Brushes/Latch Latches /Veto Vetoes/Brooch Brooches /Potato Potatoes/ Fox Foxes/Buzz Buzzes/Boss Bosses /Crutch Crutches/ Buffalo Buffaloes/ Box Boxes.

Exception: 

Certain nouns ending in -o form their plural by adding an -s at the end like patio

patios, photo-photos, halo-halos, ratio-ratios, canto-cantos, piano-pianos. 

3. When a noun ends in a consonant+ -y, the plural can be formed by deleting the -y and adding-les.

Examples: 

Lady - ladies, baby-babies, fairy-fairies, berry - berries, story-stories, lobby-lobbies, mystery-mysteries, body-bodies

 Exception: 

Sometimes only an is added at the end of a noun like Valley-Valleys or Monkey- Monkeys. 

4. When a noun ends in-f or -fe, the plural is formed by deleting the for -fe and adding-v+ -les. 

Examples: 

• hoof-hooves, call-calves, life-lives, wife-wives, half-halves

Exception: 

Sometimes only an is added at the end of the noun like Roof-Roofs, Cliff-Cliffs, Belief-Beliefs, Cuff - Cuffs.

5. The plural for the compound nouns is formed when -s is added to the primary word.

Examples:

• mother-in-law-mothers-in-law
• passerby-passersby
• son-in-law-sons-in-law
• daughter-in-law-daughters-in-law

Exception: 

Sometimes is added at the end of the compound noun to form a plural like crossroad-crossroads, firewall-firewalls, firecracker-firecrackers, wallpaper-wallpapers. 

6. The plural is formed by changing the vowel or adding an -en at the end of the noun.

Examples: 

• man-men, batsman - batsmen, fisherman - fishermen, tooth teeth, foot-feet, mouse-mice

7. Certain nouns have the same form for both singular and plural.

Examples: 

• Sheep, zebra, deer, swine, salmon, fowl, cattle