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Plural Nouns in English: Regular and Irregular Rules (Cats, Boxes, Children)
Most plurals in English just add -s, but there are spelling rules and exceptions you have to memorize.
Written by Bryan López, Profesor de inglés · Updated
To form the plural in English, most nouns just add -s: cat becomes cats. But there are spelling rules depending on how the word ends (box becomes boxes, baby becomes babies) and a group of irregular plurals that change completely and don't follow any rule: man becomes men, child becomes children.
Regular plural rules
The most common irregular plurals
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Practice plural nouns with real audio
Interactive exercises, real pronunciation, and the full lesson taught in English.
Why you have to memorize the irregulars
Irregular plurals don't follow any spelling rule, so there's no trick to figure them out, you just have to memorize them one by one. Some change the internal vowel (man → men, foot → feet), others add a different ending (child → children), and a few stay exactly the same in singular and plural (sheep, fish, deer).
Common mistakes learners make
Adding -s to an irregular plural out of habit. In many languages the plural is almost always formed with a regular ending, so it feels natural to say "mans" or "childs" instead of "men" and "children." Irregulars don't take -s at all. Forgetting the extra e in -es. Words ending in s, sh, ch, or x need the full -es, not just -s: "boxes," not "boxs"; "watches," not "watchs." Not changing the y to i. When a word ends in a consonant + y, the y changes to i before -es: "babies," not "babys." If it ends in a vowel + y, it stays the same: "boys," not "boies."
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Frequently asked questions
What is the general rule for plurals in English?
Most nouns just add -s at the end: cat → cats, book → books.
When do you add -es instead of -s?
When the word ends in s, ss, sh, ch, x, or z: box → boxes, watch → watches, bus → buses.
What are irregular plural nouns?
They're plurals that don't follow any spelling rule and have to be memorized one by one: man → men, child → children, foot → feet, mouse → mice.
What's the difference between singular and plural?
Singular refers to one thing (a cat), plural to more than one (two cats). In English, the plural is almost always marked by adding -s or -es to the noun.
How do you make the plural of a word ending in y?
If there's a consonant before the y, it changes to i and you add -es: baby → babies. If there's a vowel before it, you just add -s: boy → boys.
How do you make the plural of a word ending in f or fe?
Many change the f/fe to -ves: knife → knives, wolf → wolves. Others simply add -s: roof → roofs. There's no fixed rule, you have to learn them word by word.
Practice plural nouns with real audio
Interactive exercises, real pronunciation, and the full lesson taught in English.