Today we’ll be talking about pluralizing compound nouns. The general rule is that we add the plural ending to the main part of the compound noun.
Table of Contents
Main Part at the End
Usually it means adding the plural ending to the last part of the noun:
bookstore → bookstores
football → footballs
bathroom → bathrooms
dinner table → dinner tables
headache → headaches
If the main part does not take an ending, but instead forms the plural in a different way, it forms the plural in the same way in compound nouns.
fireman → firemen
policewoman → policewomen
Main Part Not at the End
But if the main part of a compound noun is not at the end, it’s still the part that is pluralized:
passerby → passersby
brother-in-law → brothers-in-law
man-of-war → men-of-war
hanger-on → hangers-on
Secretary–General → Secretaries–General
Verb + Preposition
If the compound noun consists of a verb and preposition, we add the plural ending to the end:
takeout → takeouts
drive-through / drive-thru → drive-throughs / drive-thrus
check-out → check-outs
spin-off → spin-offs
No Main Part
If there is no main part in the compound noun, we add the plural ending to the end:
forget-me-not → forget-me-nots
haircut → haircuts
Sometimes there’s more than one form:
court-martial → court-martials or courts-martial
