Singular and Plural Nouns

In English, nouns can be categorized as singular or plural, depending on whether they refer to one item or more than one item. 

Singular Nouns:

Singular nouns refer to one person, place, thing, or idea. Most singular nouns are formed by adding an "-s" or "-es" to the end of the word, but there are exceptions.

Cat

Dog

Book

Chair

City

Box

Plural Nouns:

Plural nouns refer to more than one person, place, thing, or idea. Plural nouns are generally formed by adding an "-s" or "-es" to the end of the word. However, there are several different rules regarding the spelling and structure of the singular noun.

Examples:

Cats

Dogs

Books

Chairs

Cities

Boxes

Rules for Forming Plural Nouns:

1. Most singular nouns simply add "-s" to form the plural.

          Car → Cars

1. Add "-es":

   • Nouns ending in "-ch", "-s", "-sh", "-x", or "-z" require "-es" to form the plural.

          Box → Boxes

1. Change the Ending:

   • Nouns ending in "-y" preceded by a consonant change the "-y" to "-ies" to form the plural.

          Baby → Babies

1. Irregular Plurals:

   • Some nouns have irregular plural forms that do not follow the standard rules.

          Child → Children

1. No Change:

   • Some nouns are the same in both singular and plural forms 

          Sheep → Sheep (singular and plural)

Exceptions:

1. Man → Men
2. Woman → Women
3. Child → Children
4. Foot → Feet
5. Tooth → Teeth
6. Goose → Geese
7. Louse → Lice
8. Mouse → Mice
9. Ox → Oxen
10. Person → People
11. Die → Dice
12. Deer → Deer
13. Fish → Fish (can be plural as well)
14. Sheep → Sheep
15. Moose → Moose
16. Criterion → Criteria
17. Medium → Media
18. Index → Indices
19. Appendix → Appendices
20. Vertex → Vertices