UsingEnglish.com

List of regular plurals ending in -s, -es and -ies

List of regular plurals ending in -s, -es and -ies

The big list of regular English plurals ending in -s, -es and -ies, arranged by level

The big list of regular plurals ending in -s, -es and -ies, arranged by level

Most nouns in English simply take -s to make a plural, without adding any other extra sounds or syllables, as in the one-syllable plurals “pets” and “sofas”. As in these examples, unvoiced final sounds like “t” are followed by the unvoiced sound “s” and voiced final sounds are followed by the voice “z” (both spelled with -s).

It is very easy to find examples of these basic regular +s plurals at every level, and there are far too many useful examples to list. This page therefore lists and explains other regular forms (+es and -ies) and a specific example of +s (words pronounced like -es has been added but with just -s because the singular already ends with -e).

There is a similar list of irregular plurals in the article How to Teach Irregular Plurals

 

Plurals that take -es with an “iz” pronunciation and one added syllable (listed by level)

Nouns which end with a sound similar to “s” like “z” and “sh” need a vowel sound to divide them from the sound of the plural -s. For example, “glass” cannot be pronounced with one syllable as “glassz”. The vowel sound “i” and therefore one extra syllables is needed, making the two-syllable plural “glassiz”, spelt “glasses”. Most plurals spelt with an added -es have this final “iz” sound. This section gives useful examples for every level from A1 to C1/ C2.

Elementary

  • buses
  • churches
  • classes
  • contact lenses
  • eyelashes
  • glasses
  • sandwiches
  • actresses
  • faxes
  • peaches
  • princesses
  • waitresses

 

Pre-Intermediate

  • beaches
  • boxes
  • brushes
  • businesses
  • dishes
  • dresses
  • inches
  • watches

 

Intermediate

  • bonuses
  • bosses
  • branches
  • foxes
  • kisses
  • losses
  • pitches
  • speeches
  • switches
  • taxes
  • viruses
  • weaknesses
  • wishes
  • witches
  • witnesses

 

Upper Intermediate

  • affixes
  • arches
  • atlases
  • benches
  • biases
  • bunches
  • bushes
  • circuses
  • coaches
  • cockroaches
  • crashes
  • crosses
  • gases
  • guesses
  • illnesses
  • matches
  • passes
  • prefixes
  • punches
  • radishes
  • remixes
  • riches
  • sketches
  • sketches
  • successes
  • suffixes
  • torches
  • wishes

 

Advanced

  • abscesses
  • approaches
  • batches
  • blemishes
  • blotches
  • blushes
  • breaches
  • brooches
  • buttresses
  • carcasses
  • censuses
  • choruses
  • clutches
  • complexes
  • congresses
  • crutches
  • dispatches
  • ditches
  • excesses
  • finches
  • flashes
  • fortresses
  • goddesses
  • harnesses
  • hutches
  • irises
  • lasses
  • launches
  • leeches
  • marches
  • marshes
  • masses
  • mattresses
  • mistresses
  • parishes
  • patches
  • pluses
  • porches
  • pouches
  • presses
  • rashes
  • recesses
  • reflexes
  • scratches
  • searches
  • sexes
  • skirmishes
  • splashes
  • stitches
  • stresses
  • thicknesses
  • trenches
  • winches

 

Words which add -s to make plurals, but an “iz” pronunciation (listed by level)

Words which are spelt with a final -e never have an added -es, so “case” becomes “cases”, not “casees” X. However, like this example, the last sound of some words spelt with a final -e is similar to “s” and so a final “iz” pronunciation and an extra syllable is needed, just like the examples above. There are useful examples of final +s pronounced “iz” below for all levels from Elementary to Advanced.

Elementary

  • bookcases
  • colleges
  • fridges
  • garages
  • houses
  • nurses
  • oranges
  • pages
  • palaces
  • pencil cases
  • sausages
  • spices
  • suitcases
  • teleconferences
  • video conferences

 

Pre-Intermediate

  • advantages
  • ages
  • ambulances
  • blouses
  • bridges
  • chances
  • changes
  • choices
  • conferences
  • dances
  • differences
  • disadvantages
  • diseases
  • excuses
  • exercises
  • experiences
  • faces
  • horses
  • images
  • increases
  • languages
  • necklaces
  • nieces
  • noises
  • offices
  • phrases
  • pieces
  • places
  • promises
  • responses
  • services
  • sizes
  • stages
  • surprises
  • text messages
  • uses
  • villages
  • wages

 

Intermediate

  • acquaintances
  • appearances
  • audiences
  • cabbages
  • carriages
  • cases
  • clauses
  • coincidences
  • compromises
  • conferences
  • courses
  • databases
  • divorces
  • expenses
  • finances
  • hostages
  • ounces
  • packages
  • pauses
  • performances
  • preferences
  • prices
  • prizes
  • purposes
  • purses
  • references
  • romances
  • shoelaces
  • sledges
  • slices
  • spaces
  • sponges
  • terraces
  • voices
  • voyages
  • workplaces

 

Upper Intermediate

  • absences
  • abuses
  • advances
  • alliances
  • allowances
  • appliances
  • assurances
  • auspices
  • averages
  • badges
  • beverages
  • braces
  • bruises
  • cages
  • carriages
  • causes
  • charges
  • circumstances
  • consequences
  • cottages
  • cruises
  • damages
  • devices
  • discharges
  • distances
  • disturbances
  • doses
  • edges
  • enterprises
  • entrances
  • exchanges
  • fences
  • forces
  • fragrances
  • franchises
  • fringes
  • fuses
  • glances
  • grievances
  • hedges
  • hinges
  • impulses
  • inferences
  • influences
  • injustices
  • instances
  • interfaces
  • invoices
  • licenses
  • marriages
  • masterpieces
  • messages
  • mortgages
  • moustaches
  • notices
  • occurrences
  • paces
  • passages
  • percentages
  • phases
  • pledges
  • poses
  • practices
  • prejudices
  • privileges
  • provinces
  • purchases
  • releases
  • residences
  • resources
  • ridges
  • roses
  • sacrifices
  • senses
  • sequences
  • sources
  • substances
  • surfaces
  • traces
  • urges
  • utterances
  • vases
  • verses
  • vices
  • warehouses

 

Advanced

  • accomplices
  • aces
  • allegiances
  • appendages
  • bandages
  • barges
  • bases
  • blockages
  • breezes
  • bronzes
  • caches
  • cartridges
  • collages
  • condolences
  • conveniences
  • creases
  • crevices
  • curses
  • disappearances
  • dispatches
  • embraces
  • essences
  • forges
  • furnaces
  • gauges
  • glimpses
  • gorges
  • greenhouses
  • guises
  • haunches
  • hoses
  • imbalances
  • impedances
  • lapses
  • leakages
  • ledges
  • licenses
  • lineages
  • linkages
  • lodges
  • midges
  • miscarriages
  • muses
  • novices
  • nuances
  • nuisances
  • outrages
  • partridges
  • pilgrimages
  • porpoises
  • pretences
  • prototypes
  • purges
  • racehorses
  • reassurances
  • recurrences
  • refuges
  • reminiscences
  • remittances
  • resonances
  • reverses
  • savages
  • sieges
  • silences
  • stances
  • stoppages
  • summonses
  • surges
  • synapses
  • syringes
  • tolerances
  • tortoises
  • typefaces
  • variances
  • vestiges
  • voltages
  • wedges

 

List of plurals ending in -ies by level

Plurals of words which end in a consonant and -y like “fly” are pronounced just with a final “z” sound without any extra syllable being added, but the spelling changes from -y to -ies. For example, the two-syllable word “nappy” changes to the two-syllable plural “nappies”, pronounced like “na-peez”. The five lists below give useful examples for learning and teaching this spelling rule for low-level, intermediate and high-level learners.

Elementary

  • babies
  • batteries
  • butterflies
  • celebrities
  • cherries
  • dictionaries
  • documentaries
  • factories
  • French fries
  • hobbies
  • libraries
  • nationalities
  • photocopies stories
  • strawberries

 

Pre-Intermediate

  • accessories
  • activities
  • apologies
  • buddies
  • cities
  • copies
  • countries
  • emergencies
  • enquiries
  • ladies
  • memories
  • parties
  • raspberries
  • similarities
  • television personalities

 

Intermediate

  • abilities
  • allergies bodies
  • bullies
  • categories
  • centuries
  • charities
  • difficulties
  • disabilities
  • discoveries
  • duties
  • galleries
  • injuries
  • necessities
  • opportunities
  • personalities
  • replies
  • responsibilities
  • salaries
  • spies
  • strategies
  • studies
  • subsidiaries
  • supplies
  • tries
  • universities
  • varieties
  • worries

 

Upper Intermediate

  • allies
  • anxieties
  • authorities
  • casualties
  • ceremonies
  • commodities
  • communities
  • controversies
  • counties
  • currencies
  • deliveries
  • democracies
  • economies
  • enemies
  • facilities
  • ferries
  • flies
  • galleries
  • industries
  • inequalities
  • lorries
  • luxuries
  • ministries
  • minorities
  • mysteries
  • obituaries
  • policies
  • priorities
  • properties
  • puppies
  • quantities
  • queries
  • redundancies
  • remedies
  • societies
  • theories
  • victories

 

Advanced

  • abnormalities
  • adversaries
  • agencies
  • ambiguities
  • amenities
  • analogies
  • annuities
  • anomalies
  • antibodies
  • antiquities
  • armies
  • arteries
  • atrocities
  • autobiographies
  • beauties
  • beneficiaries
  • boundaries
  • capabilities
  • capacities
  • cemeteries
  • certainties
  • colonies
  • commentaries
  • competencies
  • constituencies
  • contemporaries
  • contingencies
  • curiosities
  • daisies
  • deficiencies
  • deformities
  • deities
  • delicacies
  • dependencies
  • deputies
  • destinies
  • diaries
  • dignitaries
  • discrepancies
  • disparities
  • distilleries
  • eccentricities
  • embassies
  • emissaries
  • entities
  • entries
  • equities
  • estuaries
  • eventualities
  • extremities
  • fairies
  • fantasies
  • fatalities
  • ferries
  • festivities
  • fisheries
  • follies
  • forgeries
  • formalities
  • functionaries
  • galaxies
  • hippies
  • identities
  • ideologies
  • idiosyncrasies
  • impurities
  • inaccuracies
  • inadequacies
  • inconsistencies
  • indignities
  • inefficiencies
  • insecurities
  • intermediaries
  • ironies
  • irregularities
  • laboratories
  • liabilities
  • localities
  • loyalties
  • luminaries
  • melodies
  • mercenaries
  • mercies
  • methodologies
  • miseries
  • missionaries
  • monasteries
  • monopolies
  • municipalities
  • nannies
  • nappies
  • necessities
  • novelties
  • obscenities
  • oddities
  • ovaries
  • pansies
  • pastries
  • peculiarities
  • penalties
  • philosophies
  • ponies
  • poppies
  • possibilities
  • principalities
  • prophecies
  • qualities
  • rarities
  • refineries
  • repositories
  • robberies
  • rubies
  • sensibilities
  • sensitivities
  • signatories
  • specialities
  • specialties
  • subsidies
  • sympathies
  • symphonies
  • tapestries
  • tendencies
  • territories
  • tragedies
  • treaties
  • tributaries
  • utilities
  • vacancies
  • vagaries
  • wellies

 

List of plurals ending in -ys by level

Unlike the words ending with a consonant plus -y above like “cry”/ “cries”, singular nouns ending with a vowel and -y don’t changes to -ies. For example, “toy” changes to “toys”, not “toies” X. Because all vowel sound are voiced, the final -s is always pronounced with the voiced sound “z” (like “toiz”). There are fewer examples of this than of the -ies endings above, with the most useful at each level listed here.

Elementary

  • boys
  • days
  • holidays keys
  • toys

 

Pre-Intermediate

  • ashtrays
  • essays

 

Intermediate

  • birthdays
  • deejays
  • delays
  • highways
  • journeys
  • monkeys
  • plays
  • trays
  • ways
  • weekdays

 

Upper Intermediate

  • alleys
  • attorneys
  • buoys
  • cowboys
  • displays
  • guys
  • homestays
  • motorways
  • screenplays
  • surveys
  • trolleys
  • turkeys
  • valleys

 

Advanced

  • abbeys
  • alleyways
  • alloys
  • archways
  • arrays
  • bays
  • bellboys
  • castaways
  • chimneys
  • choirboys
  • cockneys
  • convoys
  • decoys
  • donkeys
  • doorways
  • driveways
  • dual carriageways
  • envoys
  • fairways
  • homeboys
  • jerseys
  • jockeys
  • joys
  • kidneys
  • lackeys
  • medleys
  • ospreys
  • pageboys
  • paperboys
  • passageways
  • pathways
  • paydays
  • playboys
  • ploys
  • pulleys
  • quays
  • relays
  • runways
  • schoolboys
  • sickbays
  • slipways
  • stingrays
  • storeys
  • stowaways
  • strays
  • sunrays
  • tomboys
  • volleys
  • walkways
  • washdays
  • waterways

 

List of plurals ending in oes by level

Most words ending with -o can simply take -s or take both -s and -es. However, there are a few common words at each level which need to be spelt with a final -es, all listed here. The pronunciation is simply “z” without any added syllable. For instance, the two-syllable singular “hero” becomes the two-syllable plural “heroes”, pronounced like “here-rohz”. This make it different from the -es examples like “pass” and “passes” above.

Elementary

  • potatoes
  • tomatoes

 

Pre-Intermediate

  • heroes
  • superheroes

 

Intermediate

  • zeroes

 

Upper Intermediate

  • echoes
  • volcanoes

 

Advanced

  • buffaloes
  • embargoes
  • torpedoes
  • vetoes
  • weirdoes

  

Copyright © 2018

Permission to print on-line has been granted to UsingEnglish.com.

Enjoyed this article?

Please help us spread the word:

Latest from ' English Grammar'

Teaching grammar in Christmas lessons Read More »

Trustpilot