General Rule: Add "s" to make a noun plural.
* Examples: book -> books, cat -> cats, chair -> chairs
When to Add "es"
* Nouns ending in "s, x, ch, sh, or z" To make these sounds easier to pronounce, we add "es" to the end.
* Examples: bus -> buses, box -> boxes, church -> churches, wish -> wishes, buzz -> buzzes
* Nouns ending in "y" preceded by a consonant Change the "y" to "i" and add "es"
* Examples: baby -> babies, story -> stories, city -> cities
Exceptions:
* Some nouns ending in "y" preceded by a vowel simply add "s"
* Examples: toy -> toys, monkey -> monkeys, boy -> boys
* Some nouns have irregular plural forms These don't follow the usual rules. You just have to learn them!
* Examples: child -> children, man -> men, woman -> women
Key Point: The pronunciation of the plural form is the key factor. "es" is added to make the plural form easier to say.
Practice makes perfect! The best way to learn these rules is to use them as much as possible while reading and speaking.