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Plural of Sugar

by Craig Shrives

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.

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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: