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Irregular Plural Nouns

Parts of speech - IRREGULAR PLURAL NOUNS

Some nouns DON’T follow the rules. For example, many nouns that end in -o are made plural by adding an -s, but others need an -es. Some nouns completely change their spelling when they become plural and other don’t change at all. Words that originate from Latin or Greek often have irregular endings. We must study and learn these irregular plural nouns.

Nouns that end with -o

A lot of nouns that end with -o usually just add -s to become plural. Look:

  • piano – pianos
  • radio – radios
  • dynamo – dynamos

 

But there are some nouns that end in -o that add -es to become plural. Look:

  • potato – potatoes
  • tomato – tomatoes
  • buffalo – buffaloes
  • mosquito – mosquitoes
  • hero – heroes

 

Spelling Change

Some nouns change their spelling in the plural. Look:

  • foot – feet
  • tooth – teeth
  • goose – geese
  • child – children
  • man – men
  • woman – women
  • ox – oxen
  • person – people

 

Original Language

Some nouns have kept their plural form from their original language (Latin or Greek). Look:

  • addendum – addenda
  • alga – algae
  • alumnus – alumni
  • bacterium – bacteria
  • cactus – cacti
  • datum – data
  • syllabus – syllabi

 

Nouns ending in -f or -fe

Most words ending in the F sound (-f or -fe) drop the -f or -fe and add -ves. Look

  • shelf – shelves
  • wolf – wolves
  • wife – wives
  • life – lives

 

But, like everything in English, there are some exceptions. Look:

  • belief – beliefs
  • chief – shiefs
  • roof – roofs
  • cliff – cliffs

 

Nouns ending in -is

Some nouns that end in -is become plural by dropping the -is and adding -es. Look:

  • axis – axes
  • analysis – analyses
  • emphasis – emphases
  • thesis – theses
  • parenthesis – parentheres

NOTE: In the above cases the pronounciation changes from an /s/ in the singular form to a /z/ in the plural form.

Nouns that don’t change at all

Some nouns have the same form in the singular and plural forms. Look:

  • deer – deer
  • fish – fish
  • series – series
  • sheep- sheep

Nouns that end with -z

Most nouns that end with -z are made plural by adding -es but there are a couple of exceptions.  Don’t worry, there aren’t many. Look:

  • quiz – quizzes
  • whiz – whizzes

Irregular Plural Nouns

Some nouns don’t follow the usual rules for forming plurals.

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What is the plural form of "child"?

2 / 12

Choose the correct plural for "thesis":

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What is the correct plural of "quiz"?

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How do you pluralize "deer"?

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Which is the correct plural of "axis"?

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What is the plural form of "belief"?

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Select the correct plural form of "shelf":

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What is the plural of "alga"?

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Choose the correct plural for "man":

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How do you pluralize "foot"?

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Which is the correct plural form of "piano"?

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What is the plural form of "potato"?

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