Regular and Irregular Nouns (Rules, Examples, Lists & Worksheet)

Regular and Irregular Nouns

We can make some nouns plural easily without changing them but in some cases, nouns become irregular when we change them into plural form. Let’s discuss how nouns become plural and how to identify regular and irregular nouns.

We are going to learn today,

• Regular Nouns
  • Definition & Examples
  • List of Regular Nouns
• Irregular Nouns
  • Definition & Examples
  • List of Irregular Nouns
• Rules to Make Plural Nouns
• Worksheet with Answers

Regular Nouns

Definition & Examples

The regular nouns are made plural by addition of -s or -es at the end of noun. These are super easy to make plural and do not involve any complication.

Examples

Singular	Plural
Bottle	Bottles
Boss	Bosses
Toy	Toys
Chair	Chairs

List of Regular Nouns

Singular	Plural
Bat	Bats
Ball	Balls
Bag	Bags
Boy	Boys
Boat	Boats
Bottle	Bottles
Bracelet	Bracelets
Brother	Brothers
Car	Cars
Cap	Caps
Continent	Continents
Day	Days
Chair	Chairs
Dream	Dreams
Dog	Dogs
Donkey	Donkeys
Girl	Girls
Hand	Hands
House	Houses
Key	Keys
Mother	Mothers
Ocean	Oceans
Park	Parks
Pen	Pens
Phone	Phones
Photograph	Photographs
Piano	Pianos
Ray	Rays
River	Rivers
Sister	Sisters
State	States
Table	Tables
Tree	Trees
Thought	Thoughts
Toy	Toys
Town	Towns
Video	Videos
Website	Websites

Irregular Nouns

Definition & Examples

In some cases, we cannot make nouns plural by addition or -s or -es — rather spellings become different when making them plural. These are called irregular nouns.

Examples are

Singular	Plural
Goose	Geese
Man	Men
Calf	Calves
Mouse	Mice

List of Irregular Nouns

Singular	Plural
Addendum	Addenda
Alga	Algae
Alumna	Alumnae
Alumnus	Alumni
Analysis	Analyses
Apex	Apices
Appendix	Appendices
Axis	Axes
Bacterium	Bacteria
Basis	Bases
Butterfly	Butterflies
Cactus	Cacti
Caveman	Cavemen
Cherry	Cherries
Child	Children
Codex	Codices
Crisis	Crises
Criterion	Criteria
Curriculum	Curricula
Datum	Data
Deer	Deer
Dwarf	Dwarves
Elf	Elves
Ellipsis	Ellipses
Fish	Fish
Fly	Flies
Foot	Feet
Formula	Formulae
Fungus	Fungi
Goose	Geese
Half	Halves
Hoof	Hooves
Hypothesis	Hypotheses
Index	Indices or indexes
Leaf	Leaves
Loaf	Loaves
Locus	Loci
Louse	Lice
Man	Men
Matrix	Matrices
Medium	Media
memorandum	Memoranda
Moose	Moose
Mouse	Mice
Nappy	Nappies
Nucleus	Nuclei
Oasis	Oases
Ox	Oxen
Parenthesis	Parentheses
Penny	Pennies
Person	People
Phenomenon	Phenomena
Policeman	Policemen
Poppy	Poppies
Quiz	Quizzes
Quiz	Quizzes
Radius	Radii
Scarf	Scarves
Scissors	Scissors
Self	Selves
Series	Series
Sheep	Sheep
Shelf	Shelves
Shrimp	Shrimp
Sky	Skies
Species	Species
Swine	Swine
Syllabus	Syllabi
synopsis	Synopses
Theory	Theories
Thesis	Theses
Thief	Thieves
This	These
Tooth	Teeth
Try	Tries
Wharf	Wharves
Whiz	Whizzes
Wife	Wives
Wolf	Wolves
Woman	Women

Rules to Make Plural Nouns

Rule-1: If the noun ends in “-f” or “-fe”, we remove “-f” or “-fe” and add “-ves” to make them plural.

For examples,

• Loaf —> Loaves
• Leaf —> Leaves
• Hoof —> Hooves
• Life —> Lives
• Wife —> Wives

However, there are some exceptions like chief —> chiefs.

Rule-2: If the noun ends in “-um” or “-on”, we remove “-um” or “-on” and add “-a” at the end.

Examples

• Addendum —> Addenda
• Curriculum —> Curricula
• Medium —> Media
• Bacterium —> Bacteria
• Phenomenon —> Phenomena

Rule-3: If the noun ends in “-us”, we remove “-us” and adds “-i” to make it plural.

Examples

• Alumnus —> Alumni
• Cactus —> Cacti
• Fungus —> Fungi
• Syllabus —> Syllabi

Rule-4: If the noun ends in “-ix”, the ending is replaced with “-ices” or “ixes” to make it plural.

Examples

• Appendix —> Appendices or Appendixes
• Matrix —> Matrices or Matrixes

Rule-5: In some cases, the singular and plural of irregular nouns are same.

Examples

• Fish —> Fish
• Bison —> Bison
• Aircraft —> Aircraft
• Sheep —> Sheep
• Deer —> Deer
• Tuna —> Tuna
• Trout —> Trout

Rule-6: If the noun ends in “-is”, the end is changed into “-es” to make it plural.

Examples

• Axis —> Axes
• Oasis —> Oases
• Thesis —> Theses
• Crisis —> Crises

Rule-7: In case the noun ends in “-o”, we add “-s” or “-es” to make it plural.

Examples

• Taco —>Tacos
• Avocado —> Avocados
• Memo —> Memos
• Tomato —> Tomatoes
• Potato —> Potatoes

Worksheet / Quiz

Point out the regular and irregular nouns in the given sentences.

1. There are two tables in my room. (regular / irregular)
2. Bob’s teeth are white and shiny. (regular / irregular)
3. The farmer was plowing the field with the help of oxen. (regular / irregular)
4. Cacti are the plants that belong to the plant family Cactaceae. (regular / irregular)
5. The factory is in technical and financial crises. (regular / irregular)
6. Tom has a collection of different types of knives. (regular / irregular)
7. The children are watching cartoons. (regular / irregular)
8. He cut the cake into two halves. (regular / irregular)
9. A pack of wolves was chasing the rabbit. (regular / irregular)
10. I bought him a bouquet of flowers. (regular / irregular)
11. She bought colorful balloons to decorate her room. (regular / irregular)
12. Jacob soaked his feet for 15 minutes. (regular / irregular)
13. The thieves broke into the house. (regular / irregular)
14. Prawn and shrimp are types of seafood. (regular / irregular)
15. There are more than a hundred houses in this colony. (regular / irregular)

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Answers

1. regular noun
2. irregular noun
3. irregular noun
4. irregular noun
5. irregular noun
6. irregular noun
7. irregular noun
8. irregular noun
9. irregular noun
10. regular noun
11. regular noun
12. irregular noun
13. irregular noun
14. irregular noun
15. regular noun

Read also

• Types of Noun with Examples
• Plural Nouns in English – Regular & Irregular Plurals
• Material Nouns
• Abstract Nouns
• Common Nouns
• Proper Nouns
• Countable and Uncountable Nouns