Irregular Noun Plurals

* ARTICLES OVERVIEW *

Most English noun plurals are formed by adding "s" to the singular form. (following the same spelling and pronunciation rules as when adding "s" to a verb.) However, there are exceptions:

plural "en":
man - men
woman - women
child - children
ox - oxen

vowel shift
mouse - mice
louse - lice
food - feet
goose - geese
tooth - teeth

no change
deer
fish		 means
series
sheep		 shrimp
species
two plurals
person - persons / people
policeman - policemen / police
brother - brothers (brethren)
cow - cows / cattle

one-of-a-kind
die - dice
nouns ending in "o"
some add "es"
domino - dominoes
echo - echoes
embargo
hero 		potato
tomato 		torpedo
veto
but most add only "s"
alto - altos
auto - autos
embryo
kangaroo
kilo
memo
photo		 piano
pimento
pro
radio
solo
soprano 		studio
tattoo
trio
video
zoo
and others can do either
archipelago - archipelagos/archipelagoes
banjo - banjos/banjoes
buffalo
cargo
halo		 innuendo
manifesto
mosquito
motto		 tornado
volcano
zero
nouns ending in "f" or "ve":
some change to "ves"
calf - calves
elf - elves
half
knife
leaf		 life
loaf
self
shelf		 thief
wife
wolf
some just add "s"
belief - beliefs
chief - chiefs
cliff
proof		 roof
safe
and others can do either!
dwarf - dwarves/dwarfs
hoof - hooves/hoofs
scarf
wharf
special cases
painting term: still lifes
proper names like Toronto Maple Leafs
foreign language plurals
words ending in "um" -> "a"
addendum - addenda
bacterium - bacteria
candelabrum
curriculum
datum		 medium
memorandum
moratorium		 stratum
referendum
symposium
words ending in "us" -> "i" (or "es")
alumnus - alumni
cactus - cacti (cactuses)
focus
fungus		 nucleus
radius		 stimulus
syllabus
words ending in "is" -> "es"
analysis - analyses
basis - bases
crisis
diagnosis
ellipsis		 hypothesis
oasis
paralysis
parenthesis		 synopsis
synthesis
thesis
words ending in "on" -> "a:
criterion - criteria
phenomenon - phenomena
words ending in "a" -> "ae" (or "s")
alga - algae
alumna - alumnae
antenna
larva		 formula
vertebra
words ending in "i/ex" -> "ices" (or "es")
appendix - appendices (appendixes)
index - indices (indexes)
matrix - matrices
French words with "eau" -> "eaux"
bureau - bureaux (bureaus)
tableau - tableaux (tableaus)
Italian words ending in "o" -> "i"
solo - soli (solos)
tempo -tempi (tempos)
Hebrew words -> "im"
cherub - cherubim (cherubs)
kibbutz - kibbutzim

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Ann Salzmann
Intensive English Institute
University of Illinois