Irregular Plural Nouns: Know Definition, Rules & Examples

Are you confused about how irregular plural nouns work and how they work? Then, this is the blog for you. Irregular plural noun are part of English grammar which is the same as the singular form. Although they might have different spelling or pronunciation. At first, you might not get familiar with this topic, however, with constant reading and writing you will eventually get a hold of what they are. To learn more about this, continue reading this blog. 

Must Read: All About Nouns

Irregular Plural Nouns Definition

An irregular plural noun is given the name as it does not follow the standard rules of forming a plural noun. Instead, they have a unique form of making a word into a plural form. The changes involved in irregular plural noun include spelling, pronunciation and several others. However, there are always exceptions. 

Examples:

• Children
• People
• Mice
• Teeth

Irregular plural noun originate from Greek or Latin languages. They do not have the same rules as nouns.

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How to Identify Irregular Plural Nouns?

Here is a list of ways through which you can easily identify irregular plural nouns:

• To identify irregular plural nouns, begin by looking at the word, it should end with ‘-es’, ‘-ies’, ‘-s’ or ‘-ves’. For example, the word ‘horse’ becomes ‘horses’ when written in plural form. 
• Next, look at the factors the word has been used in the sentence. If there is more than one noun, then do not follow the same pattern of forming plurals. This is because there must be one word which is an irregular plural noun. 
• Lastly, using a dictionary will give you a full list of irregular plural nouns. 

Irregular Plural Nouns Rules

There are no set rules for forming irregular plural nouns, however, there are spoke points that you must keep in mind.

• Some nouns change into plural form, just by adding ‘s’ to the end of the word. Example: Dogs
• Some nouns completely change spellings when converting to a plural form. Example: Mouse changes to Mice.
• There are nouns which have a different ending. Example: Fungs changes to Fungi.
• Lastly, there are always some exceptions where they remain the same in both singular and plural forms. Example: Sheep and Fish.

11+ Examples of Irregular Plural Nouns

Check out the list of examples of irregular plural nouns which will provide you with an idea: 

Child/Children	Man/Men
Goose/Geese	Woman/Women
Tooth/Teeth	Foot/Feet
Mouse/Mice	Person/People
Ox/Oxen	Die/Dice
Cactus/Cacti	Fish/Fish (plural and singular are the same)
Louse/Lice	Series/Series (plural and singular are the same)
Aircraft/Aircraft (plural and singular are the same)	Species/Species (plural and singular are the same)
Sheep/Sheep	Girl/Girls
Boy/Boys	Horse/Horses

Note: There are several examples mentioned above which also come under exceptions. These words are the same for both singular and plural.

9+ Example Sentences of Irregular Plural Nouns

Here are nine example sentences of irregular plural nouns.

1. The children were playing in the garden.
2. Many people were waiting in line for tickets.
3. He had to visit the dentist because of a toothache.
4. She hurt her foot while hiking in the mountains.
5. The mice scurried across the kitchen floor.
6. The farmer watched the geese flying south for the winter.
7. The men gathered around the bonfire to tell stories.
8. Women have made significant contributions throughout history.
9. The oxen pulled the heavy cart up the hill.
10. The hunter tracked a herd of deer through the dense forest.
11. The criteria for admission into the program were clearly outlined.
12. The cacti in the desert bloom with vibrant flowers after rainfall.

Irregular Plural Noun Exercises With Answers

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate irregular plural nouns.

1. The child has lost his two front _____.
2. I saw three ____ swimming in the lake yesterday.
3. There are many ____ grazing in the field.
4. He collected five ____ from the beach.

Answers

1. Tooth
2. Children
3. Cows
4. Shells

Check Related Posts!

What are Singular Nouns?	What are Material Nouns?
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What are Possessive Nouns?	Possessive Adjective

FAQs

What is an irregular noun?

Irregular nouns are those which become plural by changing the spelling in other ways apart from adding ‘s’ or ‘es’ to the end of the word. 

What is a base plural noun?

A base plural noun is when the singular and plural forms of the nouns remain the same and do not change.

Is ‘babies’ an irregular plural noun?

To write a word in the plural, for example, in the word ‘baby’, ‘y’ will replaced by ‘ies’ which is mostly used in such cases. The word will become ‘babies’. 

We hope this blog provided you with all the information on irregular plural noun. To advance your grammar knowledge and read more informative blogs, check out our Learn English page and don’t forget to follow Leverage Edu.