SINGULAR AND PLURAL

Como norma general, el plural de una palabra se forma añadiendo -s al final de la palabra. Pero, en inglés, hay muchos casos que no cumplen esta regla. Fíjate en todos los casos.

singular + -s

singular	plural
a car	two cars
a cassette	two cassettes
a lamp	two lamps
a hat	two hats
a cup	two cups

Add -es after sibilants:

singular	plural
a box	two boxes
a sandwich	two sandwiches
a suitcase	two suitcases
a rose	two roses
a garage	two garages

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Substitute y after consonant with -ies:

singular	plural
a city	two cities
a lady	two ladies

Add -s after vowel + y:

singular	plural
a boy	two boys
a day	two days

There are two forms of the plural of the word penny:
pennies -> You refer to the coins.
pence -> You refer to the price (how much sth. is).

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Nouns on -f or -fe:

add -s		substitute with -ves
singular	plural	singular	plural
a roof	two roofs	a thief	two thieves
a cliff	two cliffs	a wife	two wives
a sheriff	two sheriffs	a shelf	two shelves

There are two forms possible:
scarf - scarfs/scarves
hoof - hoofs/hooves
Add -s for words ending in -ff.
Always use a dictionary if you are not sure.

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Nouns on -o form the plural by adding -s or -es.

add -s		substitute with -ves
singular	plural	singular	plural
a disco	two discos	a tomato	two tomatoes
a piano	two pianos	a potato	two potatoes
a photo	two photos	a hero	two heroes

Some nouns can have two plural forms:
buffalo - buffalos/buffaloes
mosquito - mosquitos/mosquitoes
tornado - tornados/tornadoes
There is no rule when to use -s or -es. We often add -s with technical words.

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Irregular plural forms:

singular	plural
a man	two men
a woman	two women
a child	two children
a mouse	two mice
a tooth	two teeth
a goose	two geese
a foot	two feet
an ox	two oxen

Watch out!
• Some nouns end with s but are usually singular. They take a singular verb with an s ending in the Present Simple.
diseases: measles, rabies.
fields of study and occupation: economics, ethics, linguistics, politics, physics, gymnastics.
games: dominoes, darts, cards

I study mathematics, which is very difficult. Dominoes is my favorite pastime.

• Some nouns have an identical form for singular and plural that both end with s.
barracks, means, headquarters, crossroads,
a TV series – many TV series,
Money is a means to an end.+
+

Newspapers and TV are means of mass-communication.
There is one species of humans but many species of cats.

Plural Nouns from Other Languages

Endings	Singular	Plural
um – ia	One bacterium can multiply into millions. one datum The Internet is the newest medium. Each school should have a curriculum.	Bacteria multiply rapidly. Use this data for your calculations. The media is everywhere. curricula.
on – a	one criterion a natural phenomenon	several criteria natural phenomena
is – es	psychological analysis the oil crisis the basis for the hypothesis	financial analyses many life crises the bases of the hypotheses
a – ae	the TV antenna sea alga	TV antennas, insect antennae sea algae
us – i	a circle’s radius a fungus an alumnus	the circles’ radii fungi alumni
ex/ix – ices	an index The matrix appendix	Indices, indexes matrices Book appendices, appendixes in the abdomen
o – i	graffito concerto virtuoso	graffiti concerti virtuosi Exercise 1. Write the plural. Exercise 2. Write the plural. Exercise 3. Irregular plurals. Exercise 4. Mixed plurals Exercise 5. Mixed plurals. Exercise 6. Singular or plural. Exercise 7. Singular or plural. Exercise 8. Write the plural form. Exercise 9. Write the plural form. Exercise 10. Write the plural. Elementary level. Exercise 11. Choose the correct form of the plural. Exercise 12. Irregular plurals.