Words that add "es" to form the plural:
* Words ending in "s", "x", "ch", "sh", or "z": These sounds are difficult to pronounce with just an "s" at the end, so we add "es" instead.
* bus → buses
* box → boxes
* church → churches
* wish → wishes
* buzz → buzzes
* Words ending in "o" preceded by a consonant:
* potato → potatoes
* hero → heroes
* echo → echoes
* tomato → tomatoes
Exceptions:
* Words ending in "o" preceded by a vowel:
* radio → radios
* video → videos
* zoo → zoos
* Some words ending in "o" preceded by a consonant:
* piano → pianos
* photo → photos
* kilo → kilos
Key Point:
Remember that English spelling isn't always perfectly consistent. There are always some exceptions to the rules.
Let me know if you'd like to explore more specific examples!