The rules for forming pluals from nouns that end in ch x sh and s?

You're right to ask! The rules for forming plurals from nouns ending in -ch, -x, -sh, and -s can be a bit tricky. Here's a breakdown:

General Rule: Add -es to nouns ending in -ch, -x, -sh, and -s.

* -ch:

* Examples: church → churches, match → matches, bench → benches

* -x:

* Examples: box → boxes, fox → foxes, tax → taxes

* -sh:

* Examples: bush → bushes, wish → wishes, dish → dishes

* -s:

* Examples: bus → buses, class → classes, kiss → kisses

Exceptions:

* Nouns ending in -s or -ss that are not pronounced with a "z" sound: Add only -s

* Examples: bass (a type of fish) → basses, gas → gases, class (a group of students) → classes, bus (a vehicle) → buses

* Words that already end in -es: Stay the same

* Examples: series → series, species → species

Other Points:

* -ies: For words that end in -y preceded by a consonant, change the -y to -ies.

* Examples: baby → babies, story → stories, city → cities

* -ies: For words that end in -y preceded by a vowel, simply add -s.

* Examples: toy → toys, boy → boys, monkey → monkeys

Let me know if you'd like more examples or want to explore specific cases!