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IRREGULAR PLURALS

IRREGULARPLURALS
Irregular plural nouns are nouns that do not become plural by adding -s or -es, as most nouns in the English language do. 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.
Speaking English - Irregular Plural Nouns

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.



Singular (-f, -fe)=> Plural (-ves)

knife => knives

life => lives

wife => wives

calf => calves

leaf => leaves


exception: one roof, many roofs

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knife => knives

There are two knives. One knife is big and the other knife is small. I use the small knife to cut vegetables.
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wife => wives

Kirsten Scott Thomas plays a military wife. She sings with other military wives.
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leaf => leaves

The leaves in autumn turn from green to red, yellow and orange. After the first leaf falls, many leaves will follow.

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


exceptions: 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.

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

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potato => potatoes

He loves making baked sweet potatoes but he can only eat one sweet potato.
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tomato => tomatoes

She picks a fresh tomato from the vine and puts it in the bowl with the other tomatoes.
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hero => heroes

Heroes was his favourite TV show when he was young. His favourite hero was Claire Bennett.
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tooth => teeth

Jacinta lost her first tooth. She will lose many teeth in the next few years.
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man => men

Every man is different, but all the men are wearing turquoise shorts.
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foot => feet

As a teacher, I spend all day on my feet. My right foot really hurts today.

Irregular Nouns That Change Substantially

For a variety of historical reasons, some words change in spelling substantially when made plural.



Singular => Plural

mouse => mice

child =>children

person =>people

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mouse => mice

There is one white mouse with many brown mice.
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child => children

They have six children. Only one child is a boy.
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person => people

Most bicycles are made for one person. This bike is made for two people.

Irregular Nouns That Do Not Change

Some English nouns are identical in both the singular and the plural forms. Many of these are names for animals.
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shrimp

How many shrimp did he eat?
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fish

There are two fish in the tank.
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deer

I have seen several deer when walking in the woods near here.
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sugar

(you cannot count sugar)

BUT

3 cups of sugar = count noun
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jewelry

(you cannot count jewelry)

BUT

four rings and three earrings

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money

(you can't count money)

BUT

you can count dollars, loonies and toonies

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furniture

(you cannot count furniture)

BUT

you can count chairs, tables, beds, and lamps

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homework

(you can't count homework)

BUT

you can count assignments, quizzes, pages, chapters, and exercises

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information

(you can't count information)

BUT

you can count details, facts, statistics, and documents

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advice

(you cannot count advice)

BUT

you can count pieces of advice, suggestions, and recommendations

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weather

(you can't count weather)

BUT

you can count rainstorms, lightning strikes, and wind speed

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bread

(you cannot count bread)

BUT

you can count loaves and slices

NASA has made several different types of spacecraft in their fifty-nine-year history.

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Anglais pré-collégial © 2023 by Rebecca Peters, Cégep Édouard-Montpetit/Entente Canada-Québec is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/