When we make a noun plural in English, we almost always just add an “s” at the end of the word.
| ball → balls |
| number → numbers |
| tree → trees |
Many plural nouns in English end in “-s”, but the sound we make is not usually s. Most of these words end with a z sound.
| balls sounds like ballz |
| numbers sounds like numberz |
| trees sounds like treez |
Did you know the plural for “sandwich” is “sandwiches”? 😯
That’s because this word ends with “ch” so we add an “e” before the “s” to make it easier to pronounce!
So, if the singular word ends in “ch”, or even “s”, “sh” or “x”, then add “es” to make it plural!
| sandwich → sandwiches |
| bus → buses |
| dish → dishes |
| box → boxes |
Exceptions
There are a few more exceptions to these rules that you will learn as you improve.
There are also some words that have completely irregular plural forms. The five most useful ones to learn are these:
| child → children |
| woman → women |
| man → men |
| person → people |
| foot → feet |
Be careful!
There are some “-o” and “-y” words that don’t follow the rules.
| If the "-y" word has a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) right before the "y", then the word behaves like regular nouns (just add "s"). |
| boy → boys |
| key → keys |
| day → days |
| Some "-o" words (especially words borrowed from Italian) do not add the "e" and behave like regular nouns. |
| piano → pianos |
| studio → studios |
| casino → casinos |