Plural of Sugar

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The Quick Answer
The plural of sugar is sugar (a mass noun) or sugars.

The Plural of Sugar

The plural of sugar is sugar or sugars. Sugars best translates as types of sugar. The word sugars is often seen on food labels.
  • Everybody's got their poison, and mine is sugar. (Derrick Rose)
  • It has been questioned whether a diet high in sugars is good for human health.

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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 sugar
scythe		 add s sugars
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
Mass nouns sugar
rice 		some nouns do not have a plural form
 sugar
rice
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
sheep 		some nouns do not change at all salmon
sheep

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Sugar?

Confusion arises because when talking about a specific sugar, sugar is a mass noun. A mass noun is a noun without a plural form. They refer to items that can't be counted (e.g., music, milk, chalk).

When refering to multiple types of sugar (such as glucose, fructose, lactose and sucrose), sugars is an accepted plural.
Another Interactive Exercise
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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