PLURALIZATION OF NOUNS

FUNNY LANGUAGE

We’ll begin with box, the plural is boxes

But the plural of ox should be oxen not
oxes
One fowl is a goose, but two are called
geese
Yet the plural of moose could never be
Meese.
 FUNNY LANGUAGE

You may find a lone mouse, or a whole

rest of mice
But the plural of house is houses, not hice
If the plural of man should always be men
Why is the plural of pan, pans and not
pen?
 FUNNY LANGUAGE

The cow in the plural may be called cows or kine

But the plural of vow is vows never vine

If I speak at a foot and you show your two feet

When I give you a boot, will a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth

Why is the plural of booth called booths not beeth?

We speak of brother, make it two becomes brethren

But though we say mother, we never say methren

 
 FUNNY LANGUAGE

Is it true that English can confuse you and me?

I would love to discover the farther side of thee
Learning the language would be fun, you will
see
We’ll deal with English as funny as can be.
 Plural Nouns

Most nouns form their plural by

adding -s or –es.
Example: house – houses ran –
ran cow - cows
 Plural Noun Rules

Rules Examples

 To make regular cat – cats

nouns plural, add ‑s to
the end. house – houses
 Plural Noun Rules

Rules Examples

 If the singular noun ends in ‑s, -ss, truss – trusses

-sh, -ch, -x, or -z, add ‑es to the
end to make it plural.
bus – buses

marsh – marshes

lunch – lunches

tax – taxes

blitz – blitzes
 Plural Noun Rules

Rules Examples

In some cases, singular fez – fezzes

nouns ending in -s or -z,
require that you double gas –gasses
the -s or -z prior to
adding the -es for
pluralization.
 Plural Noun Rules

Rules Examples
If the noun ends with ‑f or ‑fe, the f is wife – wives
often changed to ‑ve before adding the
-s to form the plural version.
wolf – wolves

Exceptions:

roof – roofs

belief – beliefs

chef – chefs

chief – chiefs
 Plural Noun Rules

Rules Examples

If a singular noun ends in city – cities

‑y and the letter before
the -y is a consonant, puppy – puppies
change the ending to ‑ies
to make the noun plural.
 Plural Noun Rules

Rules Examples

If the singular noun ray – rays

ends in -y and the
letter before the -y is boy – boys
a vowel, simply add
an -s to make it plural.
 Plural Noun Rules

Rules Examples

 If the singular noun ends in ‑o, add potato – potatoes

‑es to make it plural.
tomato – tomatoes

Exceptions:

photo – photos

piano – pianos

halo – halos
 Plural Noun Rules

Rules Examples

If the singular noun cactus – cacti

ends in ‑us, the
plural ending is focus – foci
frequently ‑i.
 Plural Noun Rules

Rules Examples

 If the singular noun analysis – analyses

ends in ‑is, the plural
ending is ‑es. ellipsis – ellipses
 Plural Noun Rules

Rules Examples

If the singular noun phenomenon –

ends in ‑on, the plural phenomena
ending is ‑a.
criterion – criteria
 Plural Noun Rules

Rules Examples

Some nouns don’t sheep – sheep

change at all when
they’re pluralized. series – series
species – species
deer –deer
 Plural Noun Rules

Plural Noun Rules for Irregular Examples

Nouns

Irregular nouns follow child – children

no specific rules, so it’s tooth – teeth
best to memorize these goose – geese
foot – feet
or look up the proper man – men
pluralization in the mouse – mice
dictionary. woman – women
person – people 
 Plural Noun Rules

Let’s Practice!
• Tooth
• Sheep
• Dog
• House
• Datum