SingularXCand

HA
plural nouns | English Grammar | EF https://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/singular-and-pl...
XC HA
F- NG F- NG
PD E PD E

!
W

W
O

O
N

N
y

y
bu

bu
to

to
ww

ww
om

om
k

k
lic

lic
C

C
.c

.c
w

w
tr re tr re
.

.
ac ac
k e r- s o ft w a k e r- s o ft w a

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Home (/english-resources/) /  English Grammar (/english-resources/english-grammar/) /  Nouns (/english-

resources/english-grammar/nouns/)

SINGULAR AND PLURAL

NOUNS

REGULAR NOUNS
Most singular nouns form the plural by adding -s.

EXAMPLES

Singular Plural

boat boats

house houses

cat cats

river rivers

A singular noun ending in s, x, z, ch, sh makes the plural by adding-es.

EXAMPLES

Singular Plural

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SingularXCand
HA
plural nouns | English Grammar | EF https://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/singular-and-pl...
XC HA
F- NG F- NG
PD E PD E

!
W

W
O

O
N

N
y

y
bu

bu
to

to
ww

ww
om

om
k

k
lic

lic
C

C
.c

.c
w

w
tr re tr re
.

.
ac ac
k e r- s o ft w a k e r- s o ft w a

Singular Plural

bus buses

wish wishes

pitch pitches

box boxes

A singular noun ending in a consonant and then y makes the plural by dropping the y and adding-ies.

EXAMPLES

Singular Plural

penny pennies

spy spies

baby babies

city cities

daisy daisies

IRREGULAR NOUNS
There are some irregular noun plurals. The most common ones are listed below.

EXAMPLES

Singular Plural

woman women

man men

child children

tooth teeth

foot feet

2 of 5 31/07/2018 22:12
SingularXCand
HA
plural nouns | English Grammar | EF https://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/singular-and-pl...
XC HA
F- NG F- NG
PD E PD E

!
W

W
O

O
N

N
y

y
bu

bu
to

to
ww

ww
om

om
k

k
lic

lic
C

C
.c

.c
w

w
tr re tr re
.

.
ac ac
k e r- s o ft w a k e r- s o ft w a

Singular Plural

person people

leaf leaves

mouse mice

goose geese

half halves

knife knives

wife wives

life lives

elf elves

loaf loaves

potato potatoes

tomato tomatoes

cactus cacti

focus foci

fungus fungi

nucleus nuclei

syllabus syllabi/syllabuses

analysis analyses

diagnosis diagnoses

oasis oases

thesis theses

crisis crises

phenomenon phenomena

criterion criteria

datum data

3 of 5 31/07/2018 22:12
SingularXCand
HA
plural nouns | English Grammar | EF https://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/singular-and-pl...
XC HA
F- NG F- NG
PD E PD E

!
W

W
O

O
N

N
y

y
bu

bu
to

to
ww

ww
om

om
k

k
lic

lic
C

C
.c

.c
w

w
tr re tr re
.

.
ac ac
Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural.
k e r- s o ft w a k e r- s o ft w a

EXAMPLES

Singular Plural

sheep sheep

sh sh

deer deer

species species

aircraft aircraft

IRREGULAR VERB/NOUN AGREEMENT

Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb.

Plural nouns used with a singular verb Sentence

news The news is at 6.30 p.m.

athletics Athletics is good for young people.

linguistics Linguistics is the study of language.

darts Darts is a popular game in England.

billiards Billiards is played all over the world.

Some nouns have a xed plural form and take a plural verb. They are not used in the singular, or they have a
di erent meaning in the singular. Nouns like this include: trousers, jeans, glasses, savings, thanks, steps, stairs,
customs, congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts, goods, wits

Plural noun with plural verb Sentence

trousers My trousers are too tight.

jeans Her jeans are black.

glasses Those glasses are his.

4 of 5 31/07/2018 22:12
SingularXCand
HA
plural nouns | English Grammar | EF https://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/singular-and-pl...
XC HA
F- NG F- NG
PD E PD E

!
W

W
O

O
N

N
y

y
bu

bu
to

to
ww

ww
om

om
k

k
lic

lic
C

C
.c

.c
w

w
tr re tr re
.

.
ac ac
k e r- s o ft w a k e r- s o ft w a

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