English Grammar

Plural nouns examples and Rules of formation of Plural nouns

Plural nouns

In this article we are describing Plural nouns examples and Rules of formation. Plural nouns are nouns that refer to two or more elements. For example: dogs, chairs, theories. They are written with “s” at the end and, therefore, they modify the verb , which must agree in number with the subject of the sentence. For example: The boys played. (plural noun / plural verb) / The boy played. (singular noun / singular verb)

Some plural nouns (in general, those that end in a consonant in the singular), in addition to the “s”, add an “e” to facilitate pronunciation. For example: paper is , watch is .

All types of nouns have a singular and a plural form.

But the plural should not be confused with collective nouns , which are those that designate a group of elements with one word, as opposed to individual nouns that designate a single element.

Collective nouns can be in the singular (if they designate a single group) or in the plural (if they designate more than one group). For example: group/groups, herd/herds, crowd/crowds. 

Examples of plural nouns

watches maps
cars Photos
girls Numbers
Papers Colors
tables Words
woods Paintings
bottles scarves
Shoes Buildings
Flies Horses
Books Seniors

Examples of plural sentences

  1. The clocks are all on time.
  2. He was so millionaire that he collected cars.
  3. The girls are playing hairdresser.
  4. I left some papers for you to see on the table.
  5. We would have to go through the tables in the other room.
  6. The wood is impeccable, we could make a nice piece of furniture.
  7. We could throw away those bottles , they are useless and take up space.
  8. I bought these shoes for the end of the year party.
  9. The place is unpresentable, the kitchen is full of flies .
  10. In this house there are many books , it is seen that they are all great readers.
  11. We could hang these maps in the other room.
  12. I printed some of the photos we took, to put them in those frames .
  13. Numbers should be in bold to make them easier to see .
  14. The colors I like the most are green and blue, I hate pink.
  15. I have to write a note of 1500 words .
  16. The pictures you painted are beautiful. Where did you take painting classes ?
  17. Since you have a cold, I bought you these handkerchiefs.
  18. The buildings in this city are very old, I love them.
  19. The horses are at the back of the room.
  20. The elderly gather to play bowls in the neighborhood square.

Rules for forming the plural of nouns in English

To form the plural of nouns in English, simply add an “-s” to the end of each one.

  • Bag : bags (backpack/s).
  • Pen : pens (pen/s).
  • Horse : horses (horse/s).
  • Cat : cats (cat/s).

Exceptions in the formation of the plural 

However, despite the fact that in some nouns only one “s” should be added, as it is in Spanish, there are some exceptions. 

Words that end in ” and “

We remove the “y” and  add an  “ies”.

English singular plural english Translation
Company Companies  Company/s
Party Parties  Parties
Baby babies  You drink
City Cities  City/s
Spy spies  spy

Words that end in a vowel + “y”

We add an “s”.

English singular plural English Translation
Boy Boys Guys
toys Toys Toys

Words ending in  “s”, “ss”, “sh”, “ch”, “x”, “o ”

We add “is” .

English singular plural english Translation
buses buses  Bus/es
Wish wishes  Wishes
Watch Watches  Clock/s
Box Pits Boxes
Brush brushes  Brush/s
Glass Glasses  Cup/s
potato potatoes  Potatoes

Words that end in “f” or “ fe ”

We change the “f” or “ faith” for “you see”.

English singular plural English Translation
Life lives  Lives
Wife wives Wives
Knife Knives  Knives

Words that end in ” sis “” 

We change “-sis” to “ses”.

English singular plural English Translation
Analysis Analyze  Analysis
basis Bases  base, bases
parentheses parentheses  Parenthesis

English irregular plural nouns

Many nouns form their plural with a specific word . Below we collect the most common in the following table:

Singular Translation Plural Translation
Man Men Menu Men
Woman Woman Women Women
Child child kids children
Person Person People People
Tooth Tooth teeth  Teeth
mouse Mouse mice Mice
datum Fact Data Data
feet  Foot Feet Feet

Invariable Plural Nouns in English

There are some words in English that do not directly  have a plural  and must be used both to refer to one and to refer to more. These are the examples of invariable plurals. 

English Translation
Fish fish
Salmon Salmon/s
sheep sheep
species Species

Plural only nouns in English

Finally, there are some cases in which the noun only has a plural form. 

English Translation
Clothes Clothing
Glasses Glasses
Savings Savings
scissors Scissors
Shorts Shorts
stairs Ladders
trousers Pants

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