RULES FOR SPELLING PLURALS OF NOUNS The plurals of nouns are generally made by adding 8 to the singular. Nouns ending in 8, x, z, sh, or soft ch, and nouns that end in i, o, u, or y, preceded each by a consonant, are made plural by adding es to the singular. (Yis changed to i when adding es.) In our language, as written in England, the plural of story, or storey, meaning floor, is storeys. We write stories. We notice these interesting differences when reading books printed in England. A few nouns in o are exceptions to the above rule, and add 8 only. See opposite page. Nouns ending in o or y, preceded by a vowel, add s to the singular to form the plural. Nouns ending in silent e, preceded by the sound of 8, x, z, j, sh, or soft ch, add s to the singular. Some nouns ending in ƒ and fe change ƒ to v and add es, and others add only 8 to form the plural. The plurals of letters, figures, and other characters are formed by adding the apostrophe (') and s, that is ('8), to the singular. EXCEPTION.Wharf has both forms, wharfs and wharves. Staff becomes staves in the plural, but its compounds are regular; as, flagstaff, flagstaffs. The plural of many nouns is irregular, as man, men. |