Make Your Editor Cry: Aircraft (Awkward Plural)

By: Gregg Bridgeman

BLUF: (Bottom Line Up Front)
The singular and plural of aircraft is aircraft.

aircraft: a vehicle (such as an airplane or balloon) for traveling through the air

The singular of aircraft is aircraft. The plural of aircraft is also aircraft.

The word “aircrafts” is not a thing, or a word.

Examples:

Nothing can stop the attack of aircraft except other aircraft. It's unbelievable what one squadron of twelve aircraft did to tip the balance.

The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows the standard rules for forming plurals from singular nouns in English.

Type	Example of Type	Forming the Plural	Plural
Most Nouns	doe emu scythe cliff	add -s	does emus scythes cliffs
Nouns that end in the letter s, sh, ch, x, or z	bus brush church fox fez	add -es	buses brushes churches foxes fezes
Nouns that end in the [consonant] letter o	radio piano mango zero tomato potato buffalo	either add -s, or -es, or do nothing (No rules. You have to know.)	radios pianos mangoes (or mangos) zeros (or zeroes) tomatoes potatoes buffalo (or buffaloes or buffalos)
Nouns that end in the [vowel] letter o	patio ratio	add -s	patios ratios
Nouns that end in the [consonant] letter y	story penny	change the -y to an -i and add -es	stories pennies
Nouns that end in the [vowel] letter y	donkey ray buoy	add -s	donkeys rays buoys
Nouns that end in either a single f or fe	chef leaf dwarf knife wife	just add -s or change the -f to a -v then add -s or -es (No rules. You have to know.)	chefs leaves dwarfs (or dwarves) knives wives
Exceptions	man mouse	some nouns undergo vowel/letter changes	men mice
More exceptions	salmon sheep biceps boar	some nouns do not change at all	salmon sheep biceps boar (or boars)

Gregg Bridgeman

Gregg Bridgeman is the Editor-in-Chief at Olivia Kimbrell Press. He is husband to best-selling Christian author Hallee Bridgeman and parent to three. He continues to proudly serve in the US Armed Forces and has done so in either an active or reserve capacity for more than twenty years as an airborne and air assault qualified paratrooper, earning a Bronze Star for his service. Most importantly, he was ordained in October of 2001 after surrendering his life to Christ decades earlier.