Plural of Grief

What Is the Plural of Grief?

The Quick Answer

The plural of "grief" is "griefs."

I enjoyed a higher degree of satisfaction in pouring my griefs into the bosom of my friend Copperfield. (David Copperfield - Charles Dickens)
You may my glories and my state depose,
But not my griefs; still am I king of those. (Richard II - William Shakespeare)
Our trials, our sorrows, and our griefs develop us. Orison Swett Marden)

In modern-day and non-poetic language, the noun grief would be considered a non-countable noun. However, if you have a reason to describe widespread suffering, griefs is an acceptable plural.

The noun "grief" 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	life grief	ves and/or s (There are no rules - you have to know.)	lives griefs
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 Grief?

There is confusion because the rule for forming plurals with nouns ending in "f" or "fe" isn't straightforward. Most nouns will drop the "f" or "fe" and gain a "ves." For example:

"Knife" becomes "knifes."
"Leaf" becomes "leaves."

Some just add s. For example:

"Chief" becomes "chiefs."
"Cliff" becomes "cliffs."

With some words, both versions are accepted. For example:

"Scarf" becomes "scarfs" or "scarves."
"Dwarf" becomes "dwarfs" or "dwarves."

The plural of "grief" is always "griefs." Unfortunately, there is no clever way of knowing which nouns ending "f" or "fe" follow which rules. You have to know. (For example, you have to know that "thief" becomes "thieves," but "grief" becomes "griefs.")

Of note, the verb "to grieve" (which means "to feel intense sorrow") becomes "grieves" in the third person present tense. (For example: She grieves for what has been lost.)