Yale Graduate School Writing Center On-line Tutorial

Nouns That Have Irregular Plural Forms

Noun Forming the
Example
type plural
knife knives half halves
Change f to v life lives wolf wolves
Ends with f(e)
then add s or -es wife wives loaf loaves

Potato potatoes
Ends with -o Add -es tomato tomatoes
volcano volcanoes

cactus cacti
ends with -us Change -us to -i nucleus nuclei
focus foci

bacterium bacteria
curriculum curricula
ends with -um Change -um to -a datum data
medium media
memorandum memoranda

phenomenon phenomena
ends with -on Change -on to -a criterion criteria

analysis analyses
ends with -is Change -is to -es crisis crises
thesis theses

man men child children

Change the vowel or woman women ox oxen
ALL KINDS Change the word or foot feet person people
Add a different ending tooth teeth mouse mice
goose geese louse lice

sheep deer
Singular and plural deer moose
Unchanging fish (sometimes) sheep
are the same
bison swine