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Plural of Sheep

by Craig Shrives

The Quick Answer

The plural of "sheep" is "sheep."

The Plural of Sheep

The plural of "sheep" is "sheep." It is not "sheeps."

Sheep are raised for fleece, meat, and milk.
In both ancient and modern religious ritual, sheep are used as sacrificial animals.

"Sheep" is one of those words whose plural form is the same as the singular. Other words like this are "aircraft," "bison," "cod," and "deer."

Table of Contents

Are You Good at Plurals?
The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals
Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Sheep?
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Are You Good at Plurals?

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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 sheep	some nouns do not change at all	salmon sheep

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Sheep?

"Sheep" is the only way to make the noun "sheep" plural.

Confusion arises because "sheep" remains unchanged in its plural form. Unfortunately, there is no clever way of knowing which nouns follow this rule. You have to know.

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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: