Nouns in English

Plural Nouns Regular Plurals end with s or es.

Add -es to make nouns plural that end with: s – buses x – taxes ch – benches sh – dishes

Add -ies to make nouns plural that end with a consonant and -y: Lady - ladies Fry – fries City – cities Army – armies

Most nouns that end in -f or -fe change to -ves when made plural: Calf - calves Knife – knives Leaf – leaves Wolf – wolves Wife - wives

BUT: Chief – chiefs Handkerchief – handkerchiefs Roof – roofs Safe - safes

Nouns that end in -o add -es when made plural. Tomato - tomatoes Potato – potatoes Hero -heroes

BUT: Piano – pianos Photo - photos

ends with -us Change - us to -i cactus - cacti nucleus - nuclei focus - foci

ends with -is Change - is to -es analysis - analyses crisis - crises thesis - theses

ends with -on Change -on to -a phenomenon - phenomena criterion - criteria

IRREGULAR PLURALS

Some nouns do not change at all when made plural: Sheep - sheep Deer – deer Moose – moose Trout – trout

Some nouns become a new word when made plural: Man – men Woman – women Foot - feet Goose – geese Tooth – teeth Mouse – mice Louse - lice

Child – children Ox – oxen

A few nouns have only plural forms: Scissors Trousers Jeans Spectacles Clothes

A few nouns have only plural forms: Tongs Scales Savings Goods Stairs Arms

Nouns that have only singular forms: Money Fruit Hair Twilight Advice News

Compound Nouns: the main word has plural form SingularPlural billboardbillboards cupfulcupfuls campgroundcampgrounds maid of honormaids of honor attorney-at-lawattorneys-at-law step-brotherstep-brothers Great-grandmaGreat-grandmas

Possessive Case SINGULAR: man – mans, child- childs PLURAL: chairs – chairs, rooms – rooms, men - mens, women – womens

Possessive Case of Compounds and Phrases – s is added to the whole phrase Mother-in-law – mother-in-laws Maid of honor – maid of honors Attorney-at-law - attorney-at-laws

Noun Suffixes

Denoting people

People in a certain occupation or activity: -er (- or ): adviser, baker, butcher, driver, teacher, reader, protector, director, earner / actor, advisor, ancestor, animator, bachelor, counselor, navigator, tailor, vendor, warrior -eer: engineer, mountaineer, volunteer, domineer, auctioneer, profiteer, racketeer

Denoting people in a certain activity: -ster : gangster, gamester, trickster, prankster, funster -ee : addressee, grantee, employee, attendee, refugee, escapee, returnee -ant : servant, inhabitant, aspirant, immigrant

Denoting females/ instruments: -ess : duchess, countess, princess, empress, waitress, stewardess, hostess, -ina, ine : heroine, czarina, concertina,

Small things: -let = small, unimportant: piglet, owlet, booklet -ling = small: duckling, gosling, princeling -ette = small, imitation: cigarette, kitchenette, diskette

State/ activity: -ing : bathing, reading, cooking, writing, speaking -tion / -sion: depression, revolution, opression, ogranization -ment : movement, agreement, development, pavement -al : arrival, approval, festival, portal

State/ status: -hood : childhood, brotherhood, motherhood, neighborhood, boyhood, parenthood, manhood -ness : happiness, freshness, attentiveness, fastness, aggressiveness, correctness, awareness -ity : rapidity, stupidity, aridity

Amount: -ful : handful, mouthful, spoonful, bowful -age : coverage, courage, percentage,

Ideas/ conditions: -ism = doctrine: communism, capitalism, racism -ship = condition: dictatorship

Ideas/ followers: -ist = follower: communist, capitalist, racist -an = follower, born in: republican, American, Asian -ite = follower, born in: islamite, kyivite.