Regular Plurals:
* Adding -s:
* cats, dogs, books, flowers, trees, chairs
* Adding -es:
* boxes, churches, classes, buses, dishes, kisses
* Changing -y to -ies:
* babies, puppies, berries, stories, flies, armies
* Irregular Plurals:
* Changing the vowel:
* men, women, children, feet, teeth, geese
* Adding -en:
* oxen, children
* Staying the same:
* sheep, deer, fish (sometimes), series
* Compound Nouns:
* Pluralizing the main noun:
* toothbrushes, boyfriends, passersby
* Pluralizing both parts:
* women doctors, men teachers
Other Examples:
* Abstract Nouns:
* ideas, beliefs, theories, truths, possibilities
* Collective Nouns:
* families, teams, crowds, governments, armies
* Proper Nouns:
* The Joneses, the Smiths, the United States
* Nouns ending in -ful:
* handfuls, spoonfuls, mouthfuls
Remember:
* Singular vs. Plural: Singular nouns refer to one thing (cat, dog, book). Plural nouns refer to more than one (cats, dogs, books).
* Context is Key: The context of a sentence helps determine whether a noun should be singular or plural.