Singular and Plural Nouns
Regular nouns
The most common way to pluralise a singular noun is to add -s to the end. For example:
| Singular | Plural |
| Dog | Dogs |
| Face | Faces |
| Home | Homes |
| Train | Trains |
However, if the noun ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh, you pluralise by adding -es to the end. For example:
| Singular | Plural |
| Witch | Witches |
| Tax | Taxes |
| Size | Sizes |
| Bus | Buses |
Singular nouns ending in consonant+y can be pluralised by using -ies. For example:
| Singular | Plural |
| Sky | Skies |
| City | Cities |
| Berry | Berries |
| Story | Stories |
Irregular nouns
Unfortunately, there are no convenient rules for learning pluralisation for irregular nouns. Instead, they must simply be memorised. Here are some examples:
| Singular | Plural |
| Cactus | Cacti |
| Woman | Women |
| Analysis | Analyses |
| Loaf | Loaves |
| Mouse | Mice |
| Moose | Moose |
| Tooth | Teeth |
| Child | Children |
| Potato | Potatoes |
| Person | People |
Some nouns are the same for the singular and the plural. For example: moose, deer, species, sheep.
Irregular verb/noun agreement
Some nouns are pluralised, but they take on the singular form in a sentence. This is usually because they are plural but they form a singular concept or entity.
Take the news, for example:
The news is on at 6.
It is plural as in multiple news items; however, it forms one TV programme, ‘the news’. It makes more sense if you think of it in terms of the ‘programme’ being singular, and the main topic of the sentence. It would sound awkward to say ‘the news are on’, even if it seems more grammatically correct.
Let’s look at another example:
10 kilometres is a pretty good distance considering you’re not keen on running.
The person being addressed has run multiple kilometres; however, their efforts form a distance. The distance is the underlying topic, and it is singular. So it wouldn’t be correct to say ‘[the distance] are a pretty good distance’.
