The key difference between regular and irregular nouns is that regular nouns are nouns that can be converted into their plural form by simply adding “-s” and “-es” to their end, whereas irregular nouns are nouns that do not follow a standard rule in converting plurals.
The difference between regular and irregular nouns can be identified from their plural form. But it’s important to note that although the endings of the nouns have distinct formations, their purpose is the same.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Regular Nouns
3. What are Irregular Nouns
4. Regular vs Irregular Nouns in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Regular vs Irregular Nouns
What are Regular Nouns?
Plural nouns indicate that there is more than one from that referred noun. Regular nouns are nouns that can be formed into their plural form by simply adding “-s” and “-es” to the end. For example, the noun “flower” is singular, and it indicates one thing. This noun can be made plural by adding “s” at the end as “flowers,” giving the meaning “more flowers.”
Figure 01: Tree is a Regular Noun as its Plural Form is Trees
At the same time, nouns that end with -ss, -s, -sh, -ch, -z, -x, and -o are converted into plural formation by adding “-es.” For example, the noun “class” in the singular form can be converted into plural form by adding “-es” at the end of the word, making it “classes.” Therefore, singular regular nouns are formed into plurals by adapting the general rule: adding “-s” and “-es” at the end of the particular word. In other words, a major spelling change does not take place in regular nouns when converting the regular nouns into plurals.
What are Irregular Nouns?
Irregular nouns are nouns that do not follow the same rule of regular nouns or any standard rule when converting into plurals. For example, the irregular noun “child” changes into plural as “children.” It does not use any addition of “-s” or “-es” at the end, like regular nouns. If the noun “thief” is taken as another example, it changes to the plural as “thieves.” Furthermore, nouns like “sheep” and “scissors” have the same formation, and these nouns can be either singular or plural. This means the plural form of “sheep” and “scissors” remains “sheep” and “scissors.”
Figure 02: Child is an Irregular Noun as its Plural Form is Children
A major spelling change takes place in forming most irregular nouns into plural formation. Thus, the spellings of the irregular nouns change when there is a change in their number or quantity.
What is the Difference Between Regular and Irregular Nouns?
The key difference between regular and irregular nouns is that regular nouns follow a general rule when changing into plurals, while irregular nouns do not follow any standard rule when they are converted into plurals. Moreover, regular nouns can be converted into plural nouns by simply adding “-s” or “-es” at the end of the word, whereas irregular nouns do not follow any standard rule in forming plurals.
Furthermore, irregular nouns take a completely different formation from their plurals. Although all regular nouns are converted into plurals by adding “-s” or “-es,” there are some irregular nouns that are used with the same formation where they are referred to as one or many.
Below is a summary of the difference between regular and irregular nouns in tabular form for side by side comparison.
Summary – Regular vs Irregular Nouns
The key difference between regular and irregular nouns is their plural form. Regular nouns can be converted to plural nouns by simply adding “-s” or “-es” at the end of the word, whereas irregular nouns do not follow any standard rule in converting into plural form.
Reference:
1. “Irregular Nouns: Definition, Examples, & Exercises.” Albert Resources, 12 June 2021.
2. “Regular Noun & Irregular Noun – Their Meanings & Examples.” Philippine News, 18 June 2019.
I’m planning lessons for my daughter over summer break. I looked up the Common Core State Standards for Language (3rd grade) and I was unsure about irregular nouns. After reading the information on your site, the information came flooding back. Thank you for this!