Regular plurals ending in -y

Nouns ending in -y

Nouns ending in -y

Some nouns ending in f or fe change the f or fe to v and add -es to form the plural

1. calf, calves
2. elf, elves
3. half, halves
4. knife, knives
5. life, lives
6. loaf, loaves
7. self, selves
8. shelf, shelves
9. thief, thieves
10. wife, wives
11. wolf, wolves

Most nouns ending in f, or fe form their plurals regularly by adding -s to the singular: chief, chiefs; proof, proofs; roof, roofs; sheriff, sheriffs; fife, fifes.

Nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel form their plurals by adding -s to the singular: cameo, cameos; duo, duos; studio, studios; zoo, zoos.

Nouns ending in consonant + 'o'

some nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant add -es:

plural formned with -s

1. alto, altos
2. casino, casinos
3. ego, egos
4. Latino, Latinos
5. memo, memos
6. neutrino, neutrinos
7. poncho, ponchos
8. silo, silos

plural formned with -es

1. echo, echoes;
2. hero, heroes;
3. jingo, jingoes;
4. no, noes;
5. potato, potatoes;
6. tomato, tomatoes.

plural formned with -s or -es

1. buffaloes or buffalos;
2. cargoes or cargos;
3. desperadoes or desperados;
4. halos or haloes;
5. mosquitoes or mosquitos;
6. zeros or zeroes.

Some nouns ending in i form their plurals by adding -es:

1. alkali alkalies
2. taxi taxies
3. chili chilies

Nouns which change their stems

Some nouns change the stem vowels in plural form

1. foot, feet; (Note: For distance units the singlular may be used. Eg Six foot)
2. goose, geese
3. louse, lice
4. man, men
5. mouse, mice
6. tooth, teeth
7. woman, women.
8. gentleman, gentlemen
9. dormouse, dormice
10. English woman, English women.

Not all nouns containing these words form their plural this way

1. mongooses
2. Germans
3. humans.

A few nouns have plurals ending in en:

1. ox, oxen
2. child, children
3. brother, brothers (of the same parent) or brethren (a fellow member).

Compounds written as a single word usually form their plurals the same way that the final element of the compound does:

1. dishcloth, dishcloths
2. hairbrush, hairbrushes
3. midwife, midwives
4. anchorman, anchormen
5. businesswoman, businesswomen.

Exceptions

1. manservant, menservants.

Compounds ending in -ful normally form their plurals by adding -s at the end:

1. cupful, cupfuls;
2. handful, handfuls;
3. tablespoonful, tablespoonfuls. (usually three tablespoons of ..)

Compound words, written with or without a hyphen, that consist of a noun followed by an adjective or other qualifying expression form their plurals by making the same change in the noun that is made when the noun stands alone:

1. attorney-general,
2. attorneys-general;
3. daughter-in-law, daughters-in-law;
4. man-of-war, men-of-war;
5. heir apparent,
6. heirs apparent;

Some nouns, mainly names of birds, fishes, and mammals, have the same form in the plural as in the singular: bison, deer, moose, sheep, swine. Some words that follow this pattern, such as antelope, cod, crab, elk, fish, flounder, grouse, herring, quail, reindeer, salmon, shrimp, and trout, also have regular plurals ending in -s: antelope, antelopes; fish, fishes; salmon, salmons. Normally in such cases the unchanged plural indicates that the animal in question is being considered collectively, while the plural ending in -s is used specifically to indicate different varieties or species or kinds: We caught six fish but Half a dozen fishes inhabit the lake. By far, however, most animal names take a regular plural: dogs, cats, lions, monkeys, whales.

Many words indicating nationality or place of origin have the same form in the plural as in the singular: Japanese, Milanese, Swiss.

Similarly a few names of tribes or peoples have the same form in the plural as in the singular: Iroquois, Sioux. Many other such names have both an unchanged plural form and a regular plural form ending in -s:Apache or Apaches; Cherokee or Cherokees; Eskimo or Eskimos; Zulu or Zulus.

Many nouns derived from a foreign language retain their foreign plurals: (from Latin) alumna, alumnae; alumnus, alumni; bacillus, bacilli; genus, genera; series, series; species, species; (from Greek) analysis, analyses; basis, bases; crisis, crises; criterion, criteria or criterions; phenomenon, phenomena or phenomenons; (from French) adieu, adieux or adieus; beau, beaux or beaus; madame, mesdames; (from Italian) paparrazzo, paparazzi; (from Hebrew) cherub, cherubim or cherubs; kibbutz, kibbutzim. As you can see, many words of this type also have a regular plural ending in -s or -es, in which case the English plural is usually the one used in everyday speech, and the foreign plural is reserved for a technical sense or for use by a specialist: antennas (TV or radio part) or antennae (physiological structure).

usage with regard to forming the plurals of letters, numbers, and abbreviations varies somewhat. In some cases you have a choice between adding -s or -’s, although the trend is increasingly to add -s alone: three As or three A’s; the ABCs or the ABC’s; the 1900s or the 1900’s; phDs or phD’s; several IOus or several IOu’s. With lowercase letters, symbols, abbreviations with periods, and in cases where confusion might arise without an apostrophe, use -’s to form the plural: p’s and q’s; +’s; -’s; M.A.’s; A’s and I’s; 2’s. Mainly your goal is to be as clear as possible and avoid confusion.

The plural of a word being used as a word is indicated by -’s: underline all the but’s. Note that in typed or typeset copy, only the word but would appear in italics (the apostrophe and the s would be in regular type).