Plurals That Need Special Attention (Y, O, and F Endings)
Making Words Plural
Rulebase Summary
Words ending in y: if a vowel precedes the y, add -s (attorney→attorneys, display→displays); if a consonant precedes the y, change y to i and add -es (company→companies, secretary→secretaries).
Words ending in o: if the word relates to music, add -s only (soprano→sopranos, piano→pianos); if a consonant precedes the o, generally add -es (hero→heroes, tomato→tomatoes); if a vowel precedes the o, generally add -s (studio→studios, rodeo→rodeos).
Words ending in f: some change f to v and add -es (half→halves, wife→wives); others just add -s (chef→chefs, plaintiff→plaintiffs, safe→safes).
Some words use the same form for singular and plural (sheep, deer, fish, moose).
Examples
A. Three attornies represented the defendant.
A. Three attorneys represented the defendant.
Vowel before y — just add -s, don't change the y.
A. We had three companys bidding on the contract.
A. We had three companies bidding on the contract.
Consonant before y — change y to i and add -es.
Transcript Notes
Words ending in o should be looked up in a standard dictionary — many have two acceptable forms with no pattern as to which is preferred.
The word 'money' has two accepted plural spellings with different meanings: 'monies' denotes finances, and 'moneys' denotes various denominations.
Words ending in -f should also be checked in a dictionary — many have two acceptable forms. For animal categories, the form without -s denotes the number (15 fish) while the form with -s denotes various species (15 fishes in that lake).
Style Guide References (8)
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