Ever struggled with when to add ‘s’ and when to change ‘y’ to ‘ies’? You’re not alone! As someone who’s taught English for over a decade, I’ve seen countless students grapple with Singular Number and Plural Number. Let’s explore this comprehensive list of 85+ singular and plural words that will help you master this essential aspect of English grammar. Whether you’re a student, professional, or language enthusiast, this guide will be your go-to resource for mastering number changes in English.

Key Rules for Singular Number and Plural Number with Examples

1. Basic ‘S’ Rule

Adding ‘s’ to form plural

Singular	Plural	Example Sentence
book	books	“I have one book / five books”
pen	pens	“This pen / Those pens”
cat	cats	“A cat sleeps / The cats sleep”
dog	dogs	“The dog barks / The dogs bark”
table	tables	“One table / Many tables”

2. ‘ES’ Rule

Adding ‘es’ after s, sh, ch, x, z

Singular	Plural	Example Sentence
box	boxes	“A box is heavy / The boxes are heavy”
bush	bushes	“One bush grows / Many bushes grow”
church	churches	“The church opens / The churches open”
class	classes	“This class begins / These classes begin”
quiz	quizzes	“A quiz starts / The quizzes start”

3. ‘Y’ Rule

Changing ‘y’ to ‘ies’ when ‘y’ follows a consonant

Singular	Plural	Example Sentence
baby	babies	“The baby cries / The babies cry”
city	cities	“One city grows / Many cities grow”
story	stories	“This story ends / These stories end”
lady	ladies	“A lady waits / The ladies wait”
butterfly	butterflies	“The butterfly flies / The butterflies fly”

4. ‘F/FE’ Rule

Changing ‘f’ or ‘fe’ to ‘ves’

Singular	Plural	Example Sentence
wife	wives	“His wife cooks / Their wives cook”
leaf	leaves	“A leaf falls / The leaves fall”
life	lives	“One life changes / Many lives change”
knife	knives	“The knife cuts / The knives cut”
wolf	wolves	“The wolf howls / The wolves howl”

5. Irregular Forms

Special plural forms

Singular	Plural	Example Sentence
man	men	“A man works / The men work”
child	children	“The child plays / The children play”
foot	feet	“One foot hurts / Both feet hurt”
mouse	mice	“A mouse squeaks / The mice squeak”
tooth	teeth	“The tooth aches / The teeth ache”

6. Latin/Greek Origins

Words keeping their original plural forms

Singular	Plural	Example Sentence
criterion	criteria	“One criterion matters / These criteria matter”
phenomenon	phenomena	“A phenomenon occurs / Several phenomena occur”
analysis	analyses	“This analysis shows / These analyses show”
thesis	theses	“My thesis is complete / Their theses are complete”
radius	radii	“The radius extends / The radii extend”

7. Same Form (Unchanged)

Words that don’t change in plural

Singular	Plural	Example Sentence
sheep	sheep	“One sheep grazes / Many sheep graze”
deer	deer	“A deer runs / The deer run”
species	species	“This species survives / Those species survive”
fish	fish	“The fish swims / The fish swim”
aircraft	aircraft	“An aircraft lands / Several aircraft land”

8. Compound Nouns

Complex Nouns words with specific plural rules

Singular	Plural	Example Sentence
mother-in-law	mothers-in-law	“My mother-in-law visits / Both mothers-in-law visit”
passer-by	passers-by	“A passer-by stops / The passers-by stop”
editor-in-chief	editors-in-chief	“The editor-in-chief decides / The editors-in-chief decide”
grown-up	grown-ups	“One grown-up talks / The grown-ups talk”
court-martial	courts-martial	“A court-martial convenes / The courts-martial convene”

9. Always Plural

Words only used in plural form

Singular Form	Plural Form	Example Sentence
(not used)	scissors	“These scissors are sharp”
(not used)	trousers	“Those trousers fit well”
(not used)	glasses	“My glasses are broken”
(not used)	clothes	“The clothes are clean”
(not used)	pants	“Your pants are new”

10. Modern Technology Terms

Contemporary words and their plurals

Singular	Plural	Example Sentence
email	emails	“One email arrives / Many emails arrive”
website	websites	“The website loads / The websites load”
PDF	PDFs	“A PDF opens / Several PDFs open”
emoji	emojis	“An emoji appears / The emojis appear”
hashtag	hashtags	“This hashtag trends / These hashtags trend”

85 + Singular Number and Plural Number List with Examples

No.	Singular	Plural	Rule Applied
1	book	books	Add ‘s’
2	pen	pens	Add ‘s’
3	baby	babies	‘y’ to ‘ies’
4	boy	boys	Add ‘s’ after vowel + y
5	leaf	leaves	‘f’ to ‘ves’
6	wife	wives	‘fe’ to ‘ves’
7	box	boxes	Add ‘es’ after x
8	church	churches	Add ‘es’ after ch
9	brush	brushes	Add ‘es’ after sh
10	class	classes	Add ‘es’ after ss
11	potato	potatoes	Add ‘es’ after o
12	man	men	Vowel change
13	woman	women	Vowel change
14	child	children	Add ‘ren’
15	ox	oxen	Add ‘en’
16	mouse	mice	Vowel change
17	foot	feet	Vowel change
18	tooth	teeth	Vowel change
19	goose	geese	Vowel change
20	fish	fish	Same form
21	sheep	sheep	Same form
22	deer	deer	Same form
23	series	series	Same form
24	species	species	Same form
25	scissors	scissors	Always plural
26	trousers	trousers	Always plural
27	glasses	glasses	Always plural
28	clothes	clothes	Always plural
29	pants	pants	Always plural
30	mathematics	mathematics	Always singular
31	news	news	Always singular
32	physics	physics	Always singular
33	economics	economics	Always singular
34	criterion	criteria	Latin/Greek origin
35	phenomenon	phenomena	Latin/Greek origin
36	analysis	analyses	Latin/Greek origin
37	crisis	crises	Latin/Greek origin
38	thesis	theses	Latin/Greek origin
39	cactus	cacti	Latin/Greek origin
40	formula	formulae/formulas	Latin/Greek origin
41	radius	radii	Latin/Greek origin
42	fungus	fungi	Latin/Greek origin
43	datum	data	Latin/Greek origin
44	medium	media	Latin/Greek origin
45	basis	bases	Latin/Greek origin
46	hypothesis	hypotheses	Latin/Greek origin
47	knife	knives	‘fe’ to ‘ves’
48	life	lives	‘fe’ to ‘ves’
49	wolf	wolves	‘f’ to ‘ves’
50	thief	thieves	‘f’ to ‘ves’
51	shelf	shelves	‘f’ to ‘ves’
52	candy	candies	‘y’ to ‘ies’
53	lady	ladies	‘y’ to ‘ies’
54	city	cities	‘y’ to ‘ies’
55	story	stories	‘y’ to ‘ies’
56	toy	toys	Add ‘s’ after vowel + y
57	day	days	Add ‘s’ after vowel + y
58	key	keys	Add ‘s’ after vowel + y
59	monkey	monkeys	Add ‘s’ after vowel + y
60	donkey	donkeys	Add ‘s’ after vowel + y
61	hero	heroes	Add ‘es’ after o
62	tomato	tomatoes	Add ‘es’ after o
63	echo	echoes	Add ‘es’ after o
64	volcano	volcanoes	Add ‘es’ after o
65	studio	studios	Add ‘s’ after vowel + o
66	radio	radios	Add ‘s’ after vowel + o
67	video	videos	Add ‘s’ after vowel + o
68	photo	photos	Exception to o-rule
69	piano	pianos	Exception to o-rule
70	memo	memos	Exception to o-rule
71	brother-in-law	brothers-in-law	Compound noun
72	mother-in-law	mothers-in-law	Compound noun
73	passer-by	passers-by	Compound noun
74	editor-in-chief	editors-in-chief	Compound noun
75	court-martial	courts-martial	Compound noun
76	attorney general	attorneys general	Compound noun
77	commander in chief	commanders in chief	Compound noun
78	son-in-law	sons-in-law	Compound noun
79	step-child	step-children	Compound noun
80	tooth-brush	tooth-brushes	Compound noun
81	forget-me-not	forget-me-nots	Compound noun
82	grown-up	grown-ups	Compound noun
83	president-elect	presidents-elect	Compound noun
84	secretary-general	secretaries-general	Compound noun
85	poet laureate	poets laureate	Compound noun
86	mouthful	mouthfuls	Compound with ‘ful’
87	spoonful	spoonfuls	Compound with ‘ful’
88	cupful	cupfuls	Compound with ‘ful’
89	handful	handfuls	Compound with ‘ful’
90	tablespoonful	tablespoonfuls	Compound with ‘ful’