Nouns in English

Plural Nouns
Regular Plurals
end with s or es.

Add -es to make nouns plural that end with:
s
x
ch
sh

Add -ies to make nouns plural that end with a consonant and -y:
Lady
Fry
City
Army

Most nouns that end in -f or -fe change to -ves when made plural:
Calf
Knife
Leaf
Wolf
Wife

BUT:
Chief
Handkerchief
Roof
Safe

Nouns that end in -o add -es when made plural.
Tomato
Potato
Hero

BUT:
Piano
Photo

IRREGULAR PLURALS

Some nouns do not change at all when made plural:
Sheep
Deer
Moose
Trout

Some nouns become a new word when made plural:
Man
Woman
Foot
Goose
Tooth
Mouse
Louse

Child
Ox

A few nouns have only plural forms:

A few nouns have only plural forms:

Nouns that have only singular forms:

Compound Nouns: the main word has plural form

Possessive Case
SINGULAR:
man – ….., child - ……
PLURAL:
chairs – ……, rooms – ……,
men - ……, women – ……

Possessive Case of Compounds and Phrases – ‘s is added to the whole phrase
Mother-in-law – ……
Maid of honor – …….
Attorney-at-law - …….

Noun Suffixes

Denoting people

People in a certain occupation or activity:
er (-or):
eer:

Denoting people in a certain activity:
ster
ee
ant

Denoting females/ instruments:
ess
ina, ine

Small things:
let
ling
ette

State/ activity:
ing
tion/-sion
ment
al

State/ status:
hood
ness
ity

Amount:
ful
age

Ideas/ conditions:
ism
ship