Plural of Calf

by Craig Shrives
The Quick Answer
The plural of calf is calves.

The Plural of Calf

The plural of calf is calves.
  • When calves are two months old, they are branded and ear marked.
  • Veal calves are reared entirely on milk formula and killed at 18 or 20 weeks as white veal.
The noun calf adheres to the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English (shown in the table below).

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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 lamp
scythe		 add s lamps
scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z bus
dress		 add es buses
dresses
Nouns ending [consonant] o hero
zero
tomato		 add either s or es
(There are no rules for this - you have to know.)		 heroes
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
calf 		ves and/or s
(There are no rules - you have to know.)		 dwarfs
calves
Exceptions man
louse 		some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change men
lice
More exceptions salmon
sheep 		some nouns do not change at all salmon
sheep

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Calf?

There is confusion because the rule for forming the plurals of nouns ending f isn't straightforward. Most nouns will drop the f and gain a ves. For example:
  • Loaf becomes loaves.
  • Leaf becomes leaves.
Some just add s. For example:
  • Roof becomes roofs.
  • Chief becomes chiefs.
With some words, both versions are accepted. For example:
  • Scarf becomes scarfs or scarves.
  • Dwarf becomes dwarfs or dwarves.
The plural is always calves. Unfortunately, there is no clever way of knowing which nouns ending f follow which rules. You have to know. (For example, you have to know that gulf becomes gulfs, but calf becomes calves.)

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