Creating a plural isn’t always as simple as adding an ‘s’ on the end of a word, though some will allow you to do that, nothing more, such as:<\/p>\n
\n girl\u2014girls<\/em><\/p>\n
plate\u2014plates<\/em><\/p>\n
pencil\u2014pencils<\/em><\/p>\n
explanation\u2014explanations<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Words that end in ‘ch’, ‘sh’, ‘ss’, ‘s’, ‘z’ and ‘x’ require you to add ‘es’ to create a plural, such as:<\/p>\n
\n beach\u2014beaches<\/em><\/p>\n
sash\u2014sashes<\/em><\/p>\n
mass\u2014masses<\/em><\/p>\n
bus\u2014buses<\/em><\/p>\n
quiz\u2014quizes<\/em><\/p>\n
fox\u2014foxes<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
While there are some exceptions (as always, in English), when a word ends in ‘f’ or ‘fe’, you take off the ‘f’ or ‘fe’ and replace it with ‘ves’.<\/p>\n
\n calf\u2014calves<\/em><\/p>\n
wife\u2014wives<\/em><\/p>\n
life\u2014lives<\/em><\/p>\n
wolf\u2014wolves<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Exceptions include:<\/p>\n
\n cafe\u2014cafes<\/em><\/p>\n
roof\u2014roofs<\/em><\/p>\n
giraffe\u2014giraffes<\/em><\/p>\n
cliff\u2014cliffs<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Other words accept both rules of pluralisation, depending on which form of English you use, such as:<\/p>\n
\n dwarf\u2014dwarfs\u2014dwarves<\/em><\/p>\n
staff\u2014staffs\u2014staves<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When words end in ‘o’, depending on the word, you may need to only add an ‘s’ or an ‘es’.<\/p>\n
\n tomato\u2014tomatoes<\/em><\/p>\n
echo\u2014echoes<\/em><\/p>\n
embryo\u2014embryos<\/em><\/p>\n
cello\u2014cellos<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Some, however, allow both rules to apply, such as:<\/p>\n
\n motto\u2014mottos\u2014mottoes<\/em><\/p>\n
cargo\u2014cargos\u2014cargoes<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Likewise, words ending in ‘y’, depending on the word, may need merely an ‘s’ or to remove the ‘y’ and add ‘ies’. Such as:<\/p>\n
\n monkey\u2014monkeys<\/em><\/p>\n
trolley\u2014trolleys<\/em><\/p>\n
fly\u2014flies<\/em><\/p>\n
ally\u2014allies<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When pluralising proper nouns, such as a person’s family name, you simply add an ‘s’.<\/p>\n
\n The Robinson Family\u2014The Robinsons came to the party.<\/em><\/p>\n
The Jones Family\u2014The Joneses turned up late.<\/em><\/p>\n
Steffi Graf\u2014Steffi Grafs aren’t born every day.<\/em><\/p>\n
Brynjolf\u2014There aren’t many Brynjolfs out there.<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
While I have often seen apostrophes creep into plurals of numbers, the use of them here is incorrect. Expressing plurals in numbers should be used like so:<\/p>\n