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Plural of Child

by Craig Shrives

The Quick Answer

The plural of "child" is "children."

The Plural of Child

The plural of "child" is "children."

It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.
Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.

Some words do not form their plurals by adding 's' to the end but by changing their forms (e.g., man becomes men, foot becomes feet, mouse becomes mice).

Table of Contents

Are You Good at Plurals?
The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals
Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Child?
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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	childgo zero tomato	add either s or es (There are no rules for this - you have to know.)	childgoes or childgos 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	child louse	some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change	children lice
More exceptions	salmon sheep	some nouns do not change at all	salmon sheep

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Child?

Confusion rarely arises over the plural of "child" for native speakers. It's less straight forward for English learners because its plural form ("children") derives from German so non-native speakers are drawn to "childs," which would adhere to the standard ruling for forming plurals.

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Suitable for: Teachers, advanced students, and business writers.

Description: Published by London's Octopus Publishing, "Smashing Grammar" is the third, and most comprehensive, grammar reference book written by Craig Shrives (the founder of the Grammar-Monster.com). It is divided into three sections: