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Are plurals allowed in scrabble?

Published in Scrabble Rules 3 mins read

Yes, plurals are generally allowed in Scrabble, provided they follow standard English grammatical rules. This means you can often add an "S" or "ES" to an existing word on the board or play a plural form from your rack, as long as the resulting word is a valid plural recognized by the official Scrabble dictionary.

Understanding Plurals in Scrabble

Adding an "S" is one of the most common and strategic moves in Scrabble, often allowing players to extend words, create multiple new words, and score significant points. However, the use of plurals is subject to specific linguistic rules.

Key Rules for Pluralization

  • Standard Plural Forms: You can only create plurals for words that genuinely form a plural in English. For instance, CAT can become CATS, and DOG can become DOGS.
  • Irregular Plurals: Words with irregular plural forms are also valid. For example, GEESE (plural of GOOSE) or MICE (plural of MOUSE) are acceptable if they are found in the Scrabble dictionary.
  • Invariable Nouns: Some words do not change their form when plural. For example, the word SHEEP remains SHEEP in its plural form; you cannot turn it into SHEEPS. Similarly, words like FISH often remain FISH in their plural sense (though FISHES is also sometimes accepted depending on context or specific dictionary versions for different types of fish).

The Strategic Value of the 'S' Tile

The S tile is one of the most valuable in Scrabble for several reasons:

  • Pluralization: It allows players to pluralize countless nouns and verbs, creating new words and extending existing ones on the board.
  • Hooking: An 'S' can be used to "hook" onto the end of an existing word, forming its plural, while simultaneously creating a new word downwards or across the board.
  • Small Words: It can be part of many short, high-frequency words, making it versatile even without pluralization.

Examples of Plural Play in Scrabble

Category Example Word (Singular) Valid Plural in Scrabble Notes
Regular Nouns BOOK BOOKS Standard addition of 'S'
Regular Verbs RUN RUNS Third-person singular present tense
Words ending in S, X, Z, CH, SH BOX BOXES Addition of 'ES'
Irregular Nouns CHILD CHILDREN Must be a dictionary-valid irregular plural
Invariable Nouns SHEEP SHEEP Cannot be pluralized by adding 'S' or 'ES'

When in doubt, always consult the official Scrabble dictionary (or the dictionary agreed upon by players for competitive play) to verify the validity of a plural form.