Plural of Salmon

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The Quick Answer
The plural of salmon is salmon.

The Plural of Salmon

The plural of salmon is salmon.
  • Salmon are intensively farmed in many parts of the world.
  • Nearly all captured wild salmon are Pacific salmon.

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The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.
Type Example of Type Forming the Plural Plural
Most Nouns cat
scythe		 add s cats
scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z bus
dress		 add es buses
dresses
Nouns ending [consonant] o mango
zero
tomato		 add either s or es
(There are no rules for this - you have to know.)		 mangoes or mangos
zeros
tomatoes
Nouns ending [vowel] o patio
ratio 		add s patios
ratios
Nouns ending [consonant] y story
penny		 change the y to an i and add es stories
pennies
Nouns ending [vowel] y storey ()
donkey 		add s storeys
donkeys
Nouns ending f or fe dwarf
knife 		ves and/or s
(There are no rules - you have to know.)		 dwarfs
knives
Exceptions goose
louse 		some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change geese
lice
More exceptions salmon
salmon 		some nouns do not change at all salmon
salmon

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Salmon?

Salmon is the only way to make the noun salmon plural.

Confusion arises because salmon remains unchanged in its plural form. Unfortunately, there is no clever way of knowing which nouns follow which rules. You have to know.
Another Interactive Exercise
Here are three randomly selected questions from another exercise on plurals, which can be edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.

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See Also

Unusual pluralsPlural forming table Quirks with forming plurals Forming the plurals of abbreviations Forming the plurals of compound nouns