How to Identify Singular & Plural Nouns
According to the Global Language Monitor, the English language crossed the 1,000,000 word mark in June of 2009. While the language is based on a set of rules, they are somewhat confusing to those trying to learn English as children or as a second language. Just as adjectives and verbs do, nouns have a set of rules to follow, and to break. Simply knowing the rules and exceptions, though, is the first step to mastering any language.
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Instructions
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1
Check if the word you're wondering about ends with an "s," because most plural nouns do. However, not all nouns ending is "s" are plural, so if you do see an "s" at the end of the word, first check to see if the letter before the word is another "s" or a vowel. If, for example, the word is "bricks," that would be plural of "brick." However, if the word is "boss," it is not plural. If there is not an "s" or a vowel before the "s" you see, it's likely the word is indeed a plural noun.
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Know that there is always an exception to the rule after reading Step 1, as many plural nouns will have a vowel before the "s" at the end. And that vowel is the letter "e." Use the example from Step 1, "boss." Words such as "boss," where the root word ends in "s" can be made plural by adding an "es" instead of adding another "s." Words ending in "x," "ch," "sh" or "z" also cannot be pronounced correctly with an "s" added to the end, so they too need an "es" to be made plural. Examples include "foxes," "churches," "bushes" and "buzzes." Check the word you're wondering about to see if this is the case.
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3
Read Step 1 again and know that there is yet another exception to the rule. While most words ending with vowels (other than "e") are made plural with "es," there are some words that end in "o" that can be made plural by adding "s" or "es." Therefore, you may notice some authors write "halos" and others write "haloes." Both are correct, and both are plural. There are also some words, such as "piano" or "albino," that only are made plural with an added "s." In general, though, think about words ending with "o" as being made plural by adding "es," as this is more common.
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4
Think of the letter "y" as something different altogether. Because this letter is the only one that can be a consonant or a vowel, depending on usage, it also has an entirely different rule regarding plural words. Instead of simply adding "s" or "es" to the end of a root word ending with the letter "y," the "y" is actually turned into an "i" and then "es" is added. For example, the word "cherry" would turn into "cherries." Try this out with "baby," "lady" and "city."
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5
Remember that there is an exception to almost every rule and read Step 4 again. Note that in the case of words ending with "y," you'll also need to check if the word has a vowel before the "y." If so, simply check for an "s" at the end of the root word, and you'll know it's plural. Examples of this would be "essays," "toys" and "turkeys."
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Note that though the letters "f" and "fe" are not unique like "y," they too have an exception to the rules. Nouns ending with "f" or "fe" (such as "hoof") will take that "f" and turn it into a "v" and then add "es." The "f" rule is similar to the "y" rule, with a "v" instead of an "i."
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Note that all of these rules are broken with certain words that don't follow any of them. "Geese," for example, is plural of "goose," and "mice" is plural for "mouse." Some words, such as "roof," don't change at all. Identifying these words is a matter of studying and remembering, so use the links below to get these words down cold.
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8
For an easy to way to quickly identify if a word you see is a plural version of another word, say it aloud. When saying the word aloud, listed at the end of the word if you make an "es" sound, whether or not there is an "es" at the end or an "s" at the end. Words ending in vowels or "ies" will sound differently, but the majority of words will make the "es" sound if they are plural. Note that practice makes perfect in identifying and writing plural words. Study the rules and exceptions above before getting discouraged.
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Tips & Warnings
Use the links below and study daily in order to be able to recognize plural words easily.
