In English, there are hundreds of nouns that don’t follow the standard rules for pluralization. There are no easy ways to remember them, so they generally have to be memorized.
Some of the rarer irregular plurals are often misused, leading to the creation of variant forms, which usually encounter resistance at first but eventually make it into the language. For example, the plural of formula has traditionally been formulae, but formulas is now far more common, and few would call it incorrect.
Latinate plurals
Some nouns have retained their plural forms from Latin and other languages:
| singular | plural |
| addendum | addenda |
| alga | algae |
| alumnus | alumni |
| amoeba | amoebae |
| antenna | antennae |
| bacterium | bacteria |
| cactus | cacti |
| curriculum | curricula |
| datum | data |
| fungus | fungi |
| genus | genera |
| larva | larvae |
| memorandum | memoranda |
| stimulus | stimuli |
| syllabus | syllabi |
| vertebra | vertebrae |
-o becoming –oes
Most nouns ending in –o are pluralized by adding an –s, but some take –es instead—for example:
| singular | plural |
| echo | echoes |
| embargo | embargoes |
| hero | heroes |
| potato | potatoes |
| tomato | tomatoes |
| torpedo | torpedoes |
| veto | vetoes |
Changing vowel sounds
Some nouns change their central vowel sounds when pluralized—for example:
| singular | plural |
| foot | feet |
| goose | geese |
| louse | lice |
| man | men |
| mouse | mice |
| tooth | teeth |
| woman | women |
-f becoming –ves
Some nouns ending in –f are pluralized by dropping the –f and adding –ves:
| singular | plural |
| calf | calves |
| elf | elves |
| half | halves |
| hoof | hooves |
| knife | knives |
| leaf | leaves |
| life | lives |
| loaf | loaves |
| self | selves |
| shelf | shelves |
| thief | thieves |
| wife | wives |
| wolf | wolves |
-is becoming –es
Some nouns ending in –is are pluralized by dropping the –is and adding –es:
| singular | plural |
| axis | axes |
| analysis | analyses |
| basis | bases |
| crisis | crises |
| diagnosis | diagnoses |
| ellipsis | ellipses |
| emphasis | emphases |
| hypothesis | hypotheses |
| neurosis | neuroses |
| oasis | oases |
| paralysis | paralyses |
| parenthesis | parentheses |
| thesis | theses |
-ix becoming –ices
Some nouns ending in –ix are pluralized by dropping the –ix and adding –ices:
| singular | plural |
| appendix | appendices |
| index | indices |
| matrix | matrices |
Unchanged plurals
A few nouns are unchanged in their plural forms:
| singular | plural |
| barracks | barracks |
| deer | deer |
| fish | fish |
| gallows | gallows |
| means | means |
| offspring | offspring |
| series | series |
| sheep | sheep |
| species | species |
Thank you
so much
its so helpful
=kath=
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Thank you …….:)
It s helpful for our assignments, quizez and etc……
God bless
Thank You Very Much It’s So Helpful for our qiuizzes, test, exams, and assignments :) ☺
thanks u realyyyyyyyyyy e on hw
Thanks you :):):):):):):):):):):)
thank you so much :)
I’ve graduated high school roughly 5 years ago and went to catholic school growing up, which was very strict about grammar/spelling. This page, and your site in general, is an amazing help to jog back memories about how certain endings change and which wording you’d correctly use to make a sentence proper. Thank you, this was very easy to comprehend! Keep up the great work, I’m glad to see the kids commenting here are actually gaining from this too! Truly wonderful.
Thankyouuu (Y)
Its motherfucking goood!!!!!
you all are a ass hole
ahhaha!
How did I get here…?..
._.
Sorry, just one question. I don’t see person, child and some other irregular nouns. What happened to them? :D
I.. always use the “sheeps” as a plural word.
I have.. been enlightened.
Thanks for the post¡¡ I need a study english