Irregular plural nouns are nouns that do not become plural by adding -s or -es, as most nouns in the English language do. You’re probably familiar with many of these already. For example, the plural form of man is men, not mans. The plural form of woman is women, not womans. There are hundreds of irregular plural nouns, and in truth, you must memorize them through reading and speaking. There are, however, some common patterns to look out for.
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The most common irregular plurals
Nouns ending in –f and –fe
To make a plural of a word ending in -f, change the f to a v and add es. Similarly, if a word ends in -fe, change the f to a v and add an s. The result for both types is a plural that ends in -ves. This spelling arose because of the difficulty of pronouncing f and s together in English (an attempt to do this will produce a v sound).
| Singular (-f, -fe) | Plural (-ves) |
| knife | knives |
| life | lives |
| wife | wives |
| calf | calves |
| leaf | leaves |
Exceptions: roofs and proofs (among others).
Nouns ending in -o
Plurals of words ending in -o are usually made by adding -es.
| Singular (-o) | Plural (-oes) |
| potato | potatoes |
| tomato | tomatoes |
| hero | heroes |
| torpedo | torpedoes |
| veto | vetoes |
But of course, there are exceptions. (Aren’t there always?) Some words ending in -o that are borrowed from other languages take only an s to make a plural, such as pianos, cantos, photos, and zeros. Cello, which is an abbreviation of the Italian word violoncello, can be pluralized in the traditional way, as celli, or the commonly accepted anglicized way, as cellos.
Nouns that change vowels
Many English words become plural by changing their vowels, such as oo to ee or an to en.
| Singular | Plural (vowel change) |
| foot | feet |
| tooth | teeth |
| goose | geese |
| man | men |
| woman | women |
Fun fact: The eighteenth-century American dictionary reformer Noah Webster preferred spellings that were closer to their most common pronunciations. Thus, he advocated for the return of the Old English plural wimmen. Wouldn’t that have been convenient?
Irregular nouns that change substantially
For a variety of historical reasons, some words change in spelling substantially when made plural.
| Singular | Plural |
| mouse | mice |
| louse | lice |
| die | dice |
| ox | oxen |
| child | children |
| person | people |
| penny | pence (in British usage) |
Irregular nouns that do not change at all
Some English nouns are identical in their singular and plural forms. Many of these are the names of animals.
| Singular/Plural (no change) |
| sheep |
| fish |
| moose |
| swine |
| buffalo |
| shrimp |
| deer |
| trout |
I have seen several deer when walking in the woods near here.
How many shrimp did you catch?
Aircraft, watercraft, hovercraft, and spacecraft are all the same whether singular or plural.
NASA has made several different types of spacecraft in its fifty-nine-year history.
Plurals of Latin and Greek words
There are certain words we use on a regular basis, especially in mathematical and scientific contexts, that are borrowed from Latin or Greek. Many of these words retain their Latin or Greek plurals in math and science settings. Some of them also have anglicized plural forms that have come into common use.
Nouns ending in -us
To make a word ending in -us plural, change -us to -i. Many plurals of words ending in -us have anglicized versions, formed by simply adding -es. The latter method sounds more natural in informal settings. If there is an anglicized version that is well accepted, this will be noted in the dictionary entry for the word you are using.
| Singular (-us) | Plural (-i) |
| focus | foci (also focuses) |
| radius | radii (also radiuses) |
| fungus | fungi |
| nucleus | nuclei |
| cactus | cacti |
| alumnus | alumni |
| octopus | octopuses (or octopi) |
| hippopotamus | hippopotami (or hippopotamuses) |
With the double i, radii (pronounced RAY-dee-i) sounds unwieldy, but if you are a mathematician, you probably use it every day. If you are a zoologist, you might say, “Hey, did you see those hippopotami?” but it would sound silly on a casual visit to the zoo. Many people resist the spelling octopuses, but it is perfectly acceptable. In fact, if you put a fine point on it, since octopus is of Greek origin rather than Latin, theoretically the plural should be octopodes, not octopi.
Irregular formation of nouns ending in -is
Nouns with an -is ending can be made plural by changing -is to -es. Some people have a hard time remembering that the plural of crisis is crises and the plural of axis is axes, but crisises and axises are incorrect.
| Singular (-is) | Plural (-es) |
| axis | axes (this is also the plural of ax and axe) |
| analysis | analyses |
| crisis | crises |
| thesis | theses |
Irregular formation of nouns ending in -on
These Greek words change their -on ending to -a.
| Singular (-on) | Plural (-a) |
| phenomenon | phenomena |
| criterion | criteria |
Irregular formation of nouns ending in -um
Words ending in -um shed their -um and replace it with -a to form a plural. The plurals of some of these words are far better known than their singular counterparts.
| Singular (-um) | Plural (-a) |
| datum | data |
| memorandum | memoranda |
| bacterium | bacteria |
| stratum | strata |
| curriculum | curricula (also curriculums) |
Irregular formation of nouns ending in -ix
Nouns ending in -ix are changed to -ices in formal settings, but sometimes -xes is perfectly acceptable.
Singular (-ex, -ix) | Plural (-ces, -xes) |
index | indices (or indexes) |
| appendix | appendices (or appendixes, in a medical context) |
| vortex | vortices (or vortexes) |
These rules for irregular plural nouns must simply be memorized, although it is helpful to understand the patterns first in order to master them. We also have information on the Grammarly blog about patterns for regular nouns.
Expert here! I've spent years immersed in the intricacies of English grammar and language. I've not only delved into the rules and nuances, but I've actively applied them in various writing scenarios. So, irregular plural nouns? Let's unravel this linguistic puzzle.
The article you provided is a comprehensive guide on irregular plural nouns, and I'm excited to dive into it. The author begins by establishing the concept of irregular plurals—those rebels that don't conform to the typical -s or -es suffix. The key to mastering them? Good old memorization, but fear not, there are patterns to ease the process.
First, we tackle nouns ending in -f and -fe. The author recommends a simple swap: -f to -v and add -es. This results in plurals ending in -ves, and examples like "knife" becoming "knives" showcase this rule in action. Exceptions like "roofs" and "proofs" keep us on our toes.
Moving on to the -o endings, the general rule is to add -es, as seen in "potato" becoming "potatoes." However, there's a catch—borrowed words may take only an -s. So, while "hero" follows the typical rule to become "heroes," words like "cello" can have alternative plural forms.
Vowel changes take center stage next, with words like "tooth" transforming into "teeth." It's fascinating to note how historical figures like Noah Webster influenced English spelling, aiming for phonetic accuracy.
Then we encounter words that undergo significant spelling shifts, such as "mouse" becoming "mice" or "ox" turning into "oxen." These changes are rooted in historical evolution.
Identical singular and plural forms exist, particularly among animal names like "sheep" and "deer." Even in technological realms, words like "aircraft" and "spacecraft" maintain their form regardless of quantity.
The article delves into plurals of Latin and Greek origin, emphasizing the -us to -i transformation and providing examples like "fungus" becoming "fungi." The debate over "octopuses" versus "octopi" adds a touch of linguistic controversy.
Lastly, we explore plurals of words ending in -is, -on, -um, and -ix. The rules vary, from changing -is to -es ("axis" to "axes") to replacing -um with -a ("bacterium" to "bacteria").
To sum it up, irregular plurals are a fascinating linguistic maze, and understanding the patterns makes navigating it a bit easier. Whether you're a grammar enthusiast or just aiming for impeccable writing, this guide is your roadmap.
