Singular and Plural Nouns

1. Singular and Plural Nouns: Definitions

💡 Singular Nouns: Refer to one person, place, thing, or idea.

Examples: book, dog, city, woman.

💡 Plural Nouns: Refer to more than one.

Examples: books, dogs, cities, women.

2. Rules for Forming Plural Nouns

💡 English has specific rules for forming plurals. Let’s explore the rules and examples for regular and irregular plural nouns.

A. Regular Plurals

💡 Add “-s” to most nouns:

• • • • • 🚗 car → cars
        • 📖 book → books
        • 🍎 apple → apples
        • 🎒 bag → bags
        • 🖊️ pen → pens
        • 🏠 house → houses
        • 🌳 tree → trees
        • 🍩 donut → donuts
        • 💼 case → cases
        • 👞 shoe → shoes
        • 🚲 bike → bikes
        • 🌼 flower → flowers
        • 🏡 home → homes
        • 🍰 cake → cakes
        • 🖍️ crayon → crayons
        • 🐶 dog → dogs
        • 🧸 toy → toys
        • 🛏️ bed → beds
        • 🎁 gift → gifts
        • 🍕 pizza → pizzas
        • 🎩 hat → hats
        • 🚪 door → doors
        • 📄 page → pages
        • 🖥️ computer → computers
        • 💡 light → lights
        • 🔑 key → keys
        • ⏰ clock → clocks
        • 🍇 grape → grapes
        • 🌂 umbrella → umbrellas
        • ✏️ pencil → pencils
          • 📱 phone → phones
          • 🎧 headphone → headphones
          • 🎓 student → students
          • 📷 camera → cameras
          • 🌟 star → stars
          • 🎀 ribbon → ribbons
          • 🎹 piano → pianos
          • 🖼️ picture → pictures
          • 🏰 castle → castles
          • 🛒 cart → carts
          • 📌 pin → pins

💡 Add “-es” for nouns ending in -s, -x, -z, -ch, or -sh:

🚌 bus → buses
📦 box → boxes
⌚ watch → watches
🖌️ brush → brushes
📝 quiz → quizzes
🏆 match → matches
🥛 glass → glasses
🍽️ dish → dishes
⭐ wish → wishes
⛪ church → churches
🦊 fox → foxes
🪑 bench → benches
🏖️ beach → beaches
🌳 bush → bushes
📚 class → classes
💋 kiss → kisses
📉 loss → losses
👗 dress → dresses
🐝 buzz → buzzes
🥪 sandwich → sandwiches
🍑 peach → peaches
🚌 coach → coaches
🔦 torch → torches
✝️ cross → crosses
👔 boss → bosses
🧙‍♀️ witch → witches
🤒 rash → rashes
🌿 moss → mosses
⛽ gas → gases
🚍 bus → buses
💰 tax → taxes
🎷 sax → saxes
📬 address → addresses
🦶 ash → ashes
👓 lens → lenses
📷 flash → flashes
📖 batch → batches
🏰 fortress → fortresses

💡 Change “-y” to “-ies” if preceded by a consonant:

• • • • • 👶 baby → babies
        • 🏙️ city → cities
        • 🌍 country → countries
        • 👩 lady → ladies
        • 🎉 party → parties
        • 🎾 hobby → hobbies
        • 🏆 trophy → trophies
        • 💻 technology → technologies
        • 📖 story → stories
        • 🍒 berry → berries
        • 🕵️ spy → spies
        • 🍭 candy → candies
        • 🕰️ memory → memories
        • 📦 delivery → deliveries
        • 💡 discovery → discoveries
        • 🌃 sky → skies
        • 🕊️ butterfly → butterflies

        💡 If preceded by a vowel, simply add ”-s”:

      • 🛶 Key → Keys
      • 🍓 Day → Days
      • 🎤 Boy → Boys
      • 🕹️ Toy → Toys
      • 📜 Essay → Essays
      • 🌄 Valley → Valleys
      • 🚪 Journey → Journeys
      • 🍇 Ray → Rays
      • 🛤️ Way → Ways
      • 🎵 Melody → Melodies

💡 Add “-es” to most nouns ending in “-o”

• • • • 🥔 potato → potatoes
      • 🍅 tomato → tomatoes
      • 🦏 hero → heroes
      • 📦 cargo → cargoes
      • 🥭 mango → mangoes
      • 🥥 echo → echoes
      • 🦹 tornado → tornadoes

    💡 Nouns ending in “-f” or “-fe” often change to “-ves” in plural.

B. Irregular Plurals

💡 These nouns do not follow standard pluralization rules and change form entirely or remain the same.

Examples of Singular and Plural Nouns

👨 Man → Men
👩 Woman → Women
👶 Child → Children
🦷 Tooth → Teeth
👣 Foot → Feet
🐭 Mouse → Mice
🦢 Goose → Geese
🦌 Deer → Deer
🐑 Sheep → Sheep
🐟 Fish → Fish
🐂 Ox → Oxen
👥 Person → People
🎲 Die → Dice

3. Common Mistakes and Corrections

💡 Some common mistakes occur when creating plural forms of nouns. Here are examples of mistakes and correct usage.

• ❌ childs → ✅ children
• ❌ mans → ✅ men
• ❌ womans → ✅ women
• ❌ sheeps → ✅ sheep
• ❌ deers → ✅ deer
• ❌ fishs → ✅ fish
• ❌ potatos → ✅ potatoes
• ❌ citys → ✅ cities
• ❌ boxs → ✅ boxes
• ❌ buss → ✅ buses
• ❌ mouses → ✅ mice
• ❌ gooses → ✅ geese
• ❌ leafs → ✅ leaves
• ❌ knifes → ✅ knives
• ❌ wolfs → ✅ wolves
• ❌ tooths → ✅ teeth
• ❌ footes → ✅ feet
• ❌ cactus → ✅ cacti
• ❌ criterias → ✅ criteria
• ❌ phenomenons → ✅ phenomena