Plural nouns: Irregular endings

Image   There were lots of people at the event, including men, women & children. 


We usually add s or es to a singular noun to form the plural but there are also irregular forms of plural nouns in English.


Most depend on the ending of the singular noun but there are exceptions and some involve other spelling changes. Here are some examples of the most common:

 

Singular

Plural

Comments

 

f/fe

 

 

shelf

half

leaf

life

knife

 

shelves

halves

leaves

lives

knives

 

This includes most words ending in 'lf' but an exception is 'gulfs'.

 

Words ending in 'ff' take 's' e.g. 'cliffs'.

 

Some words ending in a single 'f' take 's', e.g. 'chiefs', whilst others can take either form, e.g. 'scarfs'/'scarves'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

oo

 

 

tooth

goose

foot

 

teeth

geese

feet

 

This only applies to a minority of words. Most with 'oo' are regular, e.g. boots, spoons, books.

 

 

Sometimes, there is no change.

 

 

sheep

deer

fish

means

series

species

aircraft

 

 

sheep

deer

fish/fishes*

means

series

species

aircraft

 

 

There are lots of other examples including more animals and types of fish, e.g. salmon and cod.

 

It is correct to use 'fish' for more than one of the same species and 'fishes' for more than one of different species. 'Fish' is also an uncountable noun when referring to food.

 


See also subject/verb agreement and compound nouns.