Writing Lab

1. Writing Lab Singular and Plural Nouns

2. Plural and “’s” To form the plural of most nouns, add -s: SingularPlural Ski skis Guru gurus miser misers Banana bananas Menu menus Encyclopedia encyclopedias Breakfast breakfasts

3. Plural and “-y” Endings To form the plural of a noun ending in –ypreceded by vowel, add only an –s. SingularPlural Key keys Ploy ploys Birthday birthdays Jersey jerseys

4. Plurals, “-y” endings, and “-ies” To form the plural of a noun ending in –y preceded by a consonant, change the “–y” to “–I” and add “–es.” SingularPlural Country countries Spy spies Dictionary dictionaries

5. EXCEPTION: To form the plural of proper nouns ending in –y preceded by a consonant, just add an –s. • the Kennedys • the Bradys • the Cosbys • two hot Julys

6. For –s, -sh, -ch, -z, or x, add –es: To form the plural of a noun ending in –s, -sh, -ch, -z, or x, add –es: SingularPlural Fax faxes Bonus bonuses Atlas atlases Leash leashes Watch watches Tax taxes

7. Double the final consonant Double the final consonant of one-syllable words ending in a single –s or –z preceded by vowel: SingularPlural Bus buses or busses Quiz quizzes

8. Proper nouns ending in –s, -sh, ch, -z, and –x Proper nouns ending in –s, -sh, ch, -z, and –x also form their plurals with an –es: the Joneses the Harrises the Willises two Gladyses in my class the Hirsches the Martinezes

9. False Pronunciation Don’t add –es to a proper noun ending in –s if the additional inflection creates a false pronunciation: • two Mercedes, not two Mercedeses.

10. Dictionaries’ Spelling Dictionaries may differ in their spelling of words ending in –o: SingularPlural Tornado tornadoes or tornados Memento mementos or mementoes Halo halos or haloes Mosquito mosquitoes

11. Ending in –oand Preceded by a Vowel To form the plural of a noun ending in–o preceded by a vowel, add an –s: SingularPlural Stereo stereos Rodeo rodeos Shampoo shampoos Radio radios

12. Nouns Ending in –oand Preceded by a Consonant To form the plural of some nouns ending in –o preceded by a consonant, add –s: SingularPlural Taco tacos Photo photos Ghetto ghettos Embryo embryos Piano pianos

13. Nouns Ending in –o and Preceded by a Consonant cont. To form the plural of some nouns ending in –o preceded by a consonant, add –es: SingularPlural Potato potatoes Veto vetoes

14. Plurals cont. 1 To form the plural of some words ending in –f or –fe, add –s only; to others, change the –f to –vand add –es: SingularPlural Belief beliefs Roof roofs Sheriff sheriffs Tiff tiffs Half halves Leaf leaves Life lives Shelf shelves Dwarf dwarfs or dwarves Scarf scarfs or scarves

15. Irregular Ways Some nouns form their plurals in irregular ways: SingularPlural ox oxen Child children Man men Woman women Die dice Mouse mice

16. Change the Last Element To form the plural of some compound nouns, change the last element of the compound: SingularPlural a three-year-old three-year-olds handful handfuls cease-fire cease-firesmadman madmen

17. Most Important With other compound nouns, change the form of the word that’s clearly the most important: Singular Plural statute of limitations statutes of limitations mother-in-law mothers-in-law rule of thumb rules of thumb passer-by passers-by runner-up runners-up bill of sale bills of sale poet laureate poets laureates court martial court martials attorney general attorneys general or attorney generals

18. Foreign Words Change Nouns derived from foreign words change their spelling altogether: Singular Plural Alumnus alumni Alumna alumnae Crisis crises Analysis analyses Nucleus nuclei Parenthesis parentheses Medium media Criterion criteria Basis bases Memorandum memorandums or memoranda Syllabus syllabuses or syllabi Bacterium bacteria Opus opera

19. Some nouns don’t change their form.

20. Plurals cont. 2 To form the plural of symbols, letters, and words, add an apostrophe and –s: • four “S’s” in the word Mississippi • no “if’s,” “and’s,” or “but’s”

21. That’s all, folks! • This lesson is part of the UWF Writing Lab Grammar Mini-Lesson Series • Lessons adapted from Real Good Grammar, Too by Mamie Webb Hixon • To find out more, visit the Writing Lab’s website where you can take a self-scoring quiz corresponding to this lesson