106 Irregular Nouns Singular A

addendum alga alumna alumnus analysis antenna apparatus appendix axis addenda algae alumnae alumni analyses antennas,antennae apparatuses appendices,appendixes axes bacilli bacteria bases beaux bison buffalos,buffaloes bureaus busses,buses cactuses,cacti calves children corps corpora,corpuses crises criteria curricula

Plural L

Singular
loaf louse

Plural
loaves lice men matrices means media millenniums,milennia moose mosquitoes mice nebulae,nebulas neuroses nuclei oases octopi,octopuses ova oxen paralyses parentheses people potatoes radii,radiuses scarfs,scarves

M
man matrix means medium millennium moose mosquito mouse

memorandum memoranda

B
bacillus bacterium basis beau bison buffalo bureau bus

N
nebula neurosis nucleus

O
oasis octopus ovum ox

C
cactus calf child corps corpus crisis criterion curriculum

P
paralysis parenthesis person potato

phenomenon phenomena

D
datum deer die data deer dice

R
radius

S
scarf

dwarf diagnosis

dwarfs,dwarves diagnoses echoes elves ellipses embargoes emphases errata firemen fish,fishes focuses feet formulas fungi,funguses genera geese halves heroes hoofs,hooves hypotheses

self series sheep shelf scissors species stimulus stratum syllabus symposium synthesis synopsis

selves series sheep shelves scissors species stimuli strata syllabi,syllabuses symposia,symposiums syntheses synopses tableaux those theses thieves these tomatoes teeth torpedoes vertebrae vetoes vitae watches wives wolves women zeros,zeroes

E
echo elf ellipsis embargo emphasis erratum

F
fireman fish focus foot formula fungus

T
tableau that thesis thief this tomato tooth torpedo

G
genus goose

H
half hero hoof hypothesis

V
vertebra veto vita

hippopotamus hippopotami,hippopotamuses

I
index indices,indexes knives leaves lives

W
watch wife knife wolf woman leaf life

K L Z

zero

IRREGULAR PLURALS LIST

Study these groups of words to learn how they change to plural. Each group of words has similar changes.

US -> I SINGULAR alumnus cactus focus fungus nucleus radius stimulus alumni cacti foci/focuses fungi/funguses nuclei radii stimuli IS -> ES SINGULAR axis analysis basis crisis diagnosis ellipsis hypothesis oasis paralysis parenthesis synthesis synopsis thesis axes analyses bases crises diagnoses ellipses hypotheses oases paralyses parentheses syntheses synopses theses IX -> ICES SINGULAR appendix index PLURAL appendices indeces/indexes PLURAL PLURAL

matrix

matrices/matrixes EAU -> EAUX SINGULAR PLURAL beaux bureaus/bureaux tableaux/tableaus *** -> EN SINGULAR PLURAL children men oxen women *** -> A SINGULAR PLURAL bacteria corpora criteria curricula data genera media memoranda phenomena strata NO CHANGE SINGULAR PLURAL deer fish means offspring series sheep

beau bureau tableau

child man ox woman

bacterium corpus criterion curriculum datum genus medium memorandum phenomenon stratum

deer fish means offspring series sheep

species

species OO -> EE

SINGULAR foot goose tooth feet geese teeth A -> AE SINGULAR antenna formula nebula vertebra vita

PLURAL

PLURAL antennae/antennas formulae/formulas nebulae vertebrae vitae

OUSE -> ICE SINGULAR louse mouse lice mice PLURAL

Plural Nouns When you refer to more than one noun, you use the plural form of that noun. The plural of a noun is usually formed by adding an 's' at the end of the word. For example: the plural of cat is cats; the plural of flower is flowers, and the plural of computer is computers. If the word ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh, the plural is usually formed by adding 'es.' This is because when you add an 's' to the end of these words, you have to add an extra syllable to the the word in order to prounounce it. For example: the plural of boss is bosses,

the plural of box is boxes, the plural of buzz is buzzes, the plural of lunch is lunches, and the plural of brush is brushes. Not all plurals end in 's' or 'es'. Irregular nouns are those that do not use the regular plural ending. The following are some irregular plurals.
Type of Noun Rule for Forming the Plural Examples Exceptions

Word ends in s, x, ch, or sh

Word ends in z Ending in 'y'

arch/arches, atlas/atlases, ax/axes, bash/bashes, bench/benches, bias/biases, botch/botches, box/boxes, brush/brushes, bunch/bunches, bus/buses, bush/bushes, canvas/canvases, catch/catches, church/churches, class/classes, compass/compasses, crash/crashes, cross/crosses, dais/daises, dish/dishes, dress/dresses, equinox/equinoxes, etch/etches, fetch/fetches, fix/fixes, fox/foxes, gas/gases, Add 'es' to grass/grasses, itch/itches, the end kiss/kisses, larch/larches, lash/lashes, latch/latches, mantis/mantises, march/marches, marsh/marshes, mash/mashes, mass/masses, match/matches, moss/mosses, mix/mixes, pass/passes, patch/patches, pox/poxes, radish/radishes, sash/sashes, sketch/sketches, starch/starches, stitch/stitches, tax/taxes, touch/touches, trash/trashes, twitch/twitches, vehicle/vehicles, wish/wishes, witch/witches, wrench/wrenches buzz/buzzes, fizz/fizzes, Add 'zes' to klutz/klutzes, quiz/quizzes, the end topaz/topazes, waltz/waltzes Add an 's' alley/alleys, attorney/attorneys,

axis/axes, ox/oxen

essay/essays, boy/boys, delay/delays, guy/guys, jay/jays, key/keys, osprey/ospreys, play/plays, ray/rays, stray/strays, toy/toys, tray/trays, turkey/turkeys, valley/valleys, way/ways ally/allies, army/armies, baby/babies, beauty/beauties, berry/berries, cherry/cherries, city/cities, colony/colonies, country/countries, dictionary/dictionaries, duty/duties, enemy/enemies, fairy/fairies, family/families, ferry/ferries, fly/flies, gallery/galleries, Ending in 'y' Change the history/histories, injury/injuries, preceded by final 'y' to jelly/jellies, kitty/kitties, a consonant 'ies' lady/ladies, lily/lilies, navy/navies, history/histories, party/parties, pony/ponies, reply/replies, secretary/secretaries, sky/skies, spy/spies, story/stories, study/studies, symphony/symphonies, theory/theories, trophy/trophies, try/tries, university/universities, variety/varieties, victory/victories belief/beliefs, chef/chefs, calf/calves, elf/elves, half/halves, chief/chiefs, dwarf/dwarfs, hoof/hooves, knife/knives, Ends with 'f' grief/griefs, gulf/gulfs, Change the leaf/leaves, life/lives, loaf/loaves, or 'fe' (but handkerchief/handkerchiefs, 'f' or 'fe' to knife/knives, loaf/loaves, not 'ff' or kerchief/kerchiefs, 'ves' scarf/scarves, self/selves, 'ffe') mischief/mischiefs, muff/muffs, shelf/shelves, wife/wives, oaf/oafs, proof/proofs, roof/roofs, wolf/wolves safe/safes, turf/turfs buffalo/buffaloes, cargo/cargoes, albino/albinos, echo/echoes, armadillo/armadillos, auto/autos, embargo/embargoes, cameo/cameos, cello/cellos, Ends with 'o' Add 'es' grotto/grottoes, hero/heroes, combo/combos, duo/duos, mosquito/mosquitoes, ego/egos, folio/folios, halo/halos, motto/mottoes, potato/potatoes, inferno/infernos, lasso/lassos, tomato/tomatoes, memento/mementos,

preceded by a vowel

torpedo/torpedoes, veto/vetoes, volcano/volcanoes, zero/zeroes

memo/memos, piano/pianos, photo/photos, portfolio/portfolios, pro/pros, silo/silos, solo/solos, stereo/stereos, studio/studios, taco/tacos, tattoo/tattoos, tuxedo/tuxedos, typo/typos, veto/vetoes, video/videos, yo/yos, zoo/zoos

Irregular

Variable

Ends with Change final 'is' (from a 'is' to 'es' Greek root)

Ends with 'us' (if the Change final word is from 'us' to 'i' the Latin)

Ends with Change final 'um' 'um' to 'a'

Ends with 'a' but not 'ia' Change final (from a 'a' to 'ae' Latin root) Ends with 'on' (from a Change final Greek root - 'on' to 'a' - not 'tion')

child/children, die/dice, foot/feet, goose/geese, louse/lice, man/men, mouse/mice, ox/oxen, person/people, that/those, this/these, tooth/teeth, woman/women analysis/analyses, axis/axes, basis/bases, crisis/crises, ellipsis/ellipses, hypotheses/hypothesis, neurosis/neuroses, oasis/oases, paralysis/paralyses, parenthesis/parentheses, synopsis/synopses, synthesis/syntheses, thesis/theses alumnus/alumni, bacillus/bacilli, cactus/cacti, focus/foci, fungus/fungi, locus/loci, nucleus/nuclei, radius/radii, stimulus/stimuli, syllabus/syllabi, terminus/termini, torus/tori bacterium/bacteria, curriculum/curricula, datum/data, erratum/errata, gymnasium/gymnasia, medium/media, memorandum/memoranda, ovum/ova, stratum/strata alga/algae, alumna/alumnae, antenna/antennae, larva/larvae, nebula/nebulae, pupa/pupae (or pupas), vertebra/vertebrae, vita/vitae automaton/automata, criterion/criteria, phenomenon/phenomena, polyhedron/polyhedra

abacus/abacuses, crocus/crocuses, genus/genera, octopus/octopuses (not octopi, since octopus is from the Greek language), rhombus/rhombuses, walrus/walruses

album/albums, stadium/stadiums

agenda/agendas, alfalfa/alfalfas, aurora/auroras, banana/bananas, barracuda/barracudas, cornea/corneas, nova/novas, phobia/phobias balloon/balloons, carton/cartons and many, many others

Ends with Change final vertex/vertices, vortex/vortices 'ex' 'ex' to 'ices' advice, aircraft, bison, corn, deer, equipment , evidence, fish (sometimes), gold, information, jewelry, kin, legislation, luck, luggage, moose, music, offspring, sheep, silver, swine, trousers, trout, wheat barracks, bellows, cattle, congratulations, deer, dregs, eyeglasses, gallows, headquarters, mathematics, means, measles, mumps, news, oats, pants, pliers, pajamas, scissors, series, shears, shorts, species, tongs, tweezers, vespers attorney general/attorneys general, bill of fare/bills of fare, chief of staff/chiefs of staff, court-martial/courts-martial, daughter-in-law/daughters-inlaw, father-in-law/fathers-in-law, full moon/full moons, he-man/hemen, journeyman/journeymen, lady-in-waiting/ladies-in-waiting, lieutenant colonel/lieutenant colonels, maid-of-honor, maidsof-honor, master-atarms/masters-at-arms, middle class/middle classes, mother-inlaw/mothers-in-law, post office/post offices, secretary of state/secretaries of state, sergeant major/sergeants major, son-inlaw/sons-in-law, passerby/passers-by, she-wolf/shewolves, stepsister/stepsisters, tenyear-old/ten-year-olds

annex/annexes, complex/complexes, duplex/duplexes, hex/hexes, index/indexes or indices

Singular and Unchanging plural are the same

Only the Unchanging plural exists

The plural ending is Compound usually nouns added to the main noun