Word that are plural and singular nouns

Read a complete list of singular noun and plural noun

Singular and plural noun list a-z

1. Army-Armies
2. Ass-Asses
3. Baby-Babies
4. Bamboo-Bamboos
5. Bench-Benches
6. Bird-Birds
7. Boat-Boats
8. Bone-Bones
9. Box-Boxes
10. Boy-Boys
11. Brother-in-law- Brothers-in-laws
12. Buffalo-Buffaloes
13. Bus-Buses
14. Bush-Bushes
15. Caddy-Caddies
16. Calf-Calves
17. Car-Cars
18. Cat-Cats
19. Chair-Chairs
20. Chief-Chiefs
21. Child-Children
22. City-Cities
23. Class-Classes
24. Class fellow-Class fellows
25. Cliff-Cliffs
26. Clutch-Clutches
27. Copy-Copies
28. Country-Countries
29. Cow-Cows
30. Cry-Cries
31. Cuckoo-Cuckoos
32. Cup-Cups
33. Daughter-in-law- Daughters-in-laws
34. Day-Days
35. Deci-Decies
36. Deer-Deers
37. Dog-Dogs
38. Donkey-Donkeys
39. Dozen-Dozens
40. Duty-Duties
41. Essay-Essays
42. Family-Families
43. Father-Fathers
44. Father-in-law- Fathers-in-laws
45. Fish-Fishes
46. Fly-Flies
47. Foot-Feet
48. Fox-Foxes
49. Gas-Gases
50. Glass-Glasses
51. Grass-Grasses
52. Hair-Hairs
53. Half-Halves
54. Hand-Hands
55. Hero-Heroes
56. Hoof-Hoofs
57. Horse-Horses
58. House-Houses
59. Inch-Inches
60. Jar-Jars
61. Key-Keys
62. Knife-Knives
63. Lady-Ladies
64. Lass-Lasses
65. Leaf-Leaves
66. Leg-Legs
67. Life-Lives
68. Loaf-Loaves
69. Loof-Loofs
70. Love-Loves
71. Maidservant-Maidservants
72. Man-Men
73. Mango-Mangoes
74. Monkey-Monkeys
75. MotherMothers
76. Mother-in-law- Mothers-in-laws
77. Mouse- Mice
78. News-News
79. Ox-Oxen
80. Pencil-Pencils
81. Penny-Pennies
82. Person-People
83. Pitch-Pitches
84. Poetry-Poetries
85. Potato-Potatoes
86. Proof-Proofs
87. Quiz-Quizzes
88. Radio-Radios
89. Ray-Rays
90. River-Rivers
91. Scissor-Scissors
92. Self-Selves
93. Sheep-Sheeps
94. Shop-Shops
95. Singular-Plural
96. Singular noon-Plural noun
97. Sister-Sisters
98. Sister-in-law- Sister-in-laws
99. Sky-Skies
100. Son-in-law- Son-in-laws
101. Spey- Spies
102. Stepson-Stepsons
103. Story-Stories
104. Table-Tables
105. Thief-Thieves
106. Tooth-Teeth
107. Toy-Toys
108. Trouser-Trousers
109. Uncle-Uncles
110. Watch-Watches
111. Wife-Wives
112. Wish-Wishes
113. Woman-Women

Singular and Plural Nouns

Nouns are the words used as the names of persons, animals, places, things, ideas or events.

There are two types of nouns in English Grammar. One refers to the singular noun and the other refers to the plural noun.  

These two nouns are also otherwise called the singular number and the plural number. 

Singular Noun Definition:

When a noun refers to one person or thing, it is said to be in the Singular Noun/Number. 

Singular Noun Examples: 

These Singular Nouns can be categorised in the following manner.

• Singular Nouns related to one person:

singer, dancer, artist, photographer, magician, driver, officer, doctor, engineer, principal, peon, labor, nurse, shopkeeper, gatekeeper, sweeper, salesman, philosopher, teacher, minister, president, businessperson, writer, student, friend, boy, girl, toddler, baby, teenager, woman, man, person etc.,

• Singular Nouns related to one place: 

bank, airport, continent, country, state, city, town, village, hotel, school, classroom, university, college, park, shop, coffee shop, zoo, water park, mall, supermarket, post office, police station,  house, laboratory, library, museum, stadium, building, restaurant, temple, mosque, church, etc.,

• Singular Nouns related to one thing: 

ruler, chair, mobile, dictionary, carpet, lawnmower, bus, computer, courage, telephone, spade,  printer, hammer, bicycle, pen, table, ship, calculator, crayon, sofa, truck, television, pencil, fridge, book, lamp, ladder, train, cooker, whiteboard, marker, duster, register, map, globe etc.,

Plural Noun Definition:

When a noun refers to more than one person or thing, it is said to be in the Plural Noun/Number.

Plural Noun Examples:

rooms, tables,  computers, pieces of chalk, students, teachers, parents, books, pens, stories etc.,

Forming of Plural Noun:

There are various RULES to form plural nouns from singular. Most of the rules have been provided here. 

They are as follows:

Rule No 1: Most of the Nouns in English form their plural noun by adding ‘s’ at the end of a singular noun. 

Examples:

• actor – actors
• animal – animals
• answer – answers
• boat – boats
• book – books
• bottle –  bottles
• car – cars
• cat –  cats
• cap – caps
• cow – cows
• day – days
• desk – desks
• dog – dogs
• example – examples
• fact- facts 
• goat – goats
• group – groups
• girl -girls
• house – houses
• lake – lakes
• pencil – pencils
• pen – pens
• school – schools
• snake – snakes
• system – systems
• teacher – teachers
• thing – things

Rule No 2: When Nouns end in  –’o’,  we generally add –’es’ to form plurals:

Examples:

• buffalo – buffaloes
• cargo – cargoes
• echo – echoes
• hero – heroes
• mango – mangoes
• mosquito – mosquitoes
• negro – negroes
• potato – potatoes
• tomato – tomatoes
• torpedo – torpedoes
• veto – vetoes
• volcano – volcanoes
• zero – zeroes

Exception 1:  Though some nouns end in –’o’, we add only ‘s’.

• canto – cantos
• commando – commandos
• Eskimo – Eskimos
• logo – logos
• memento – mementos
• memo – memos
• photo – photos
• piano – pianos
• pro – pros
• solo – solos

Exception 2: But for some nouns, we can add  ‘s’ and ‘es’.  Both are correct.

• buffalo – buffalos/buffaloes
• cargo – cargos/cargoes
• commando – commandos/commandoes
• memento – mementos/mementoes
• mosquito – mosquitos/mosquitoes
• portico – porticos/porticoes
• volcano – volcanos/volcanoes

Rule No 3: When a noun ends in –’o’ but preceded by a vowel, we add only “s”.

Examples:

• bamboo – bamboos
• cuckoo – cuckoos
• cameo – cameos
• folio – folios
• kangaroo – kangaroos
• portfolio – portfolios
• radio – radios
• studio – studios
• video – videos

Rule No 4: When Nouns end in -s, -sh, -ch (soft), or -x, we add -’es’ to form plurals:

Examples:

• access – accesses
• address – addresses
• atlas – atlases
• ax –  axes
• beach – beaches
• bench – benches
• box – boxes
• branch – branches
• brush – brushes
• bunch – bunches
• bus – buses
• church – churches
• class – classes
• congress – congresses
• crash – crashes
• dish – dishes
• dress – dresses
• fox – foxes
• gas – gases
• kiss – kisses
• lunch – lunches
• mass – masses
• match – matches
• patch – patches
• radish – radishes
• research – researches
• search – searches
• sketch – sketches
• speech – speeches
• stress – stresses
• status – statuses
• stitch – stitches
• success – successes
• tax – taxes
• touch: touches
• watch – watches
• wish – wishes
• witch – witches

Rule No 5: When Nouns end in –’y’ and –’y’ is preceded by a consonant, we change the ‘y’ into ‘i’ and add -’es’ to form plurals.

Examples:

• berry – berries
• cherry – cherries
• city – cities
• colony – colonies
• copy – copies
• country – countries
• daisy – daisies
• duty – duties
• dictionary – dictionaries
• enemy – enemies
• fairy – fairies
• family – families
• fly – flies
• gallery – galleries
• hobby – hobbies
• injury – injuries
• lady – ladies
• lorry – lorries
• lily – lilies
• party – parties
• penny – pennies
• pony – ponies
• puppy – puppies
• reply – replies
• story – stories
• study – studies
• theory – theories
• trophy – trophies
• university – universities
• victory – victories

Exception: But, in case –’y’ is preceded by a vowel, we add only –’s’. 

• boy – boys
• day – days
• delay – delays
• donkey – donkeys
• essay – essays
• guy – guys
• holiday – holidays
• joy – joys
• key – keys
• monkey – monkeys
• play – plays
• ray – rays
• storey – storeys
• toy – toys
• tray – trays
• valley – valleys

Rule No 6: When Nouns end in -’ch’ and ‘ch’ is pronounced as ‘k’, we add –’s’ to form the plural. 

Examples:

• hierarch – hierarchs
• epoch – epochs
• eunuch – eunuchs
• monarch – monarchs
• patriarch – patriarchs
• matriarch – matriarchs
• stomach – stomachs
• hierarch – hierarchs

Rule No 7: When Nouns end in ‘f’ or ‘fe’, we replace it with –‘v’ and then add -‘es’ to form the plural.

Examples:

• calf – calves
• elf – elves
• half –  halves
• hoof – hooves
• knife – knives
• leaf – leaves
• life – lives
• leaf – leaves
• loaf – loaves
• scarf – scarves
• self – selves
• sheaf – sheaves
• shelf – shelves
• thief – thieves
• wife – wives
• wolf – wolves

Exception 1:  The following nouns become plural when we add only ‘s’.

• belief – beliefs
• brief – briefs
• chief – chiefs
• cliff – cliffs
• cuff –  cuffs
• gulf – gulfs
• grief – griefs 
• proof – proofs
• roof – roofs
• safe – safes
• scarf – scarfs
• serf – serfs
• strife – strifes
• turf – turfs

Exception 2:  But for some nouns, we can add both -’s’ or –’ves’.  Both are correct.

• dwarf – dwarfs or dwarves 
• hoof – hoofs or hooves
• scarf – scarfs or scarves
• kerchief – kerchief or kerchieves
• wharf – wharfs or wharves 

Rule No 8: We change inside vowels of some nouns to make them plural

Examples:

• dormouse – dormice
• goose – geese
• foot – feet
• louse – lice
• man – men
• mouse – mice
• person – people
• tooth – teeth
• woman – women

Exception:  We add -’en’ to a few nouns to make them plural.

• child –  children
• ox – oxen
• brother – brethren (brothers also correct)
• cow – kine (cows also correct)
• sister – sistren (sisters also correct)

Rule No 9: Some nouns are the same in singular and plural.

Examples:

• aircraft – aircraft
• barracks –  barracks
• deer – deer
• dozen – dozen
• gross – gross
• pair -pair
• score – score
• series – series
• sheep – sheep
• spacecraft – spacecraft
• species – species

Rule No 10: Some nouns have two types of  plural forms

Examples:

• antelope – antelope or antelopes
• fish – fish or fishes
• reindeer – reindeer or reindeers
• herring – herring or herrings

Rule No 11: Some nouns are used only in the plural form

Names of certain tools and things:

bellows, scissors, spectacles, binoculars, glasses, goggles, sunglasses

headphones, pliers, tweezers, tongs,  pincers, chopsticks etc.

Names of clothes and footwear:

shorts, trousers, panties, briefs, drawers, tights, jeans, pants, pyjamas, clothes, shoes, sandals, gloves, slippers,  boots, socks etc.

Note: We can use ‘a pair of’ with these plural nouns. 

Examples: 

a pair of trousers, a pair of pants, a pair of glasses, a pair of scissors, a pair of chopsticks, a pair of sandals, a pair of gloves etc.,

Certain other different nouns:

earnings, belongings, assets, congratulations, thanks, annals, 

outskirts, premises, surroundings, environs, alms, riches, eaves etc.,

Certain Collective Nouns:

Poultry, cattle, vermin, people, gentry, children etc.,

Rule No 12: Some nouns are used only in the singular form

Names of subjects and others:

mathematics, physics, economics, electronics, news, innings, politics, wages, ethics etc.,

Names of some common diseases:

measles, mumps, rickets etc.,

Names of some games: 

billiards, draughts, carroms etc.,

Certain Collective Nouns:

knowledge, information, stationery, luggage, furniture, homework, scenery, bread, expenditure money, power etc.,

Some nouns that refer to number, weight etc., if preceded by numerals.

dozen, gross, hundred, thousand, horse-power, million-foot etc.,

Examples:

• Two dozen bananas
• Two gross of pencils
• Three hundred rupees
• A three-foot stick
• Four thousand dollars

Note: But, we add –’s’ to these nouns if they are used without numerals and are followed by ‘of’.

Examples:

• Dozens of bananas
• Hundreds of rupees
• Thousands of people
• The tree is 30 feet high.

Rule No 13: Change of Compound Nouns into plural:

Examples:

Rule No 14: In the case of letters, numbers, and abbreviations, we add an apostrophe and -’s’ to make them plural. 

Examples:

• Akshay, write your q’s and p’s clearly.
• Mohini, add two 8’s and subtract three 2’s.
• Ten M.A.’s and only two B.E.’s have attended the interview.

Rule No 15: Some Greek and Latin Nouns can form their plurals in the following manner:

1.Some nouns can be added –’es’ in place of –’is’ to make them plural

Examples:

2. Some Nouns that end in -’a’ can be added -’e’ to make the plural

Examples:

• antenna – antennae or antennas
• alga – algae
• formula – formulae
• larva – larvae
• nebula – nebulae
• vertebra – vertebrae 

3. Some nouns can be added –’i’ in place of –’us’ to make them plural

Examples:

• cactus – cacti
• focus – foci 
• fungus – fungi
• nucleus – nuclei
• radius – radii
• syllabus – syllabi
• terminus – termini 

4. Some nouns can be added –’a’ in place of –’um’ to make them plural

Examples:

• agendum (agenda) – agenda  (nowadays, agenda is used mostly as a singular form)
• aquarium – aquaria or aquariums
• bacterium – bacteria
• curriculum – curricula
• corrigendum – corrigenda
• datum – data
• erratum – errata
• forum – fora
• gymnasium – gymnasia or gymnasiums
• maximum – maxima or maximums
• medium – media
• memorandum – memoranda or memorandums
• millennium – millennia
• moratorium –  moratoria or moratoriums
• podium – podia or podiums  
• referendum – referenda or referendums
• stratum – strata

4. Some nouns can be added –’ices’ in place of –’ex/ix’ to make them plural

Examples:

• appendix – appendices or appendixes
• index – indices or indexes
• matrix – matrices
• vertex – vertices

6. Some nouns can be added –’a’ in place of –’on’ to make them plural

Examples:

• automaton – automata or automatons
• criterion – criteria
• ganglion – ganglia or ganglions
• polyhedron – polyhedra
• phenomenon – phenomena

7. Some nouns that end in –’ma’ can be added –’ta’ to make them plural

Examples:

• dogma – dogmata
• stigma – stigmata

8. The following words are from French:

Examples:

• madame (madam) –  mesdames 
• monsieur – messieurs

Greek and Latin Nouns Worksheets

Rule No 16: Some Nouns have two plural forms each with a different meaning.

Examples:

Rule No 17: Some Nouns have two meanings in the singular but only one in the plural:

Examples:

Rule No 18: Some nouns have one meaning in the singular, but two in the plural. 

Examples:

Rule No 19: Some nouns have different meanings in the singular and in the plural. 

Examples:

Rule No 20: Some nouns are normally used in the plural. 

1.Proper Nouns:

India, Telangana, Warangal, Ashoka, Mary, Ganga etc

Note.1 When a Proper Noun is used in the plural, it becomes a Common Noun.

He is a Bruce Lee in fighting.

Kalidasa is called the Shakespeare of India

Note.2 But Some Nouns can be used in Plural like

The United States of America, The Alps, The Himalayas etc.,

2.Abstract Nouns:

Hope, charity, love, kindness, friendship, death, beauty etc.,

Note: When the Abstract Noun is used in the plural, it becomes a Common Noun.

Truly, the beauties of Kashmir are enticing.

3.Material Nouns:

Copper, iron, tin, wood, glass, rice, oil etc.,

Note: When a Material Noun is used in the plural, it becomes a Common Noun

Examples:

He does not have any coppers with him. (copper coins)

The convict has been found in irons. (fetters)

Last summer, we enjoyed ourselves in the nearby woods. (forests)

• Types of Nouns
• Proper Nouns
• Common Nouns
• Collective Nouns
• Nouns of Multitude
• Material Nouns
• Abstract Nouns
• Compound Nouns
• The Noun – Case
• Gender of the Noun
• Possessive Nouns
• A list of Partitives
• Appositive
• List of Countable and Uncountable Nouns
• Countable and Uncountable Nouns