When Words End in 'O,' Their Plurals Spell Woe

Rob Kyff
Tue, 25 Nov 2025 23:00:00 -0800
Lifestyle

When Vice President Dan Quayle "corrected" a student's spelling of "potato" to "potatoe" back in 1992, people laughed. But some of us might have trouble spelling its plural form. Is it "potatos" or "potatoes"?

Here's a "simple and handy rule": A noun ending in "o" forms its plural by adding "es" (as in "potatoes") UNLESS:

No. 1: The final "o" is preceded by a vowel (radios, videos)
Updated: Wed Nov 26, 2025

When Vice President Dan Quayle "corrected" a student's spelling of "potato" to "potatoe" back in 1992, people laughed. But some of us might have trouble spelling its plural form. Is it "potatos" or "potatoes"?

Here's a "simple and handy rule": A noun ending in "o" forms its plural by adding "es" (as in "potatoes") UNLESS:

No. 1: The final "o" is preceded by a vowel (radios, videos)

No. 2: The singular form is a shortened word (photos, autos)

No. 3: It is seldom used as a plural (mojos, bravados)

No. 4: It is a proper name (Gallos, Pinocchios)

No. 5: It is an alien-looking word (gazebos, imbroglios)

No. 6: It is related to music (altos, piccolos)

No. 7: Its moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter is aligned with Mars.

If this rule is simple and handy, I'd hate to see one that's confusing and complicated!

For example, because "gusto" is seldom used as a plural, you might assume its plural is "gustos," but it's actually "gustoes."

Likewise, "mementos," "avocados" and "albinos" don't seem to fit any of the exceptions listed above, yet they don't end in "es." Perhaps I'm missing some "innuendos/innuendoes" here; (dictionaries disagree on that one).

Given such nonconformities, see whether you can determine the correct plural of these nouns: 1. domino 2. Soprano (name) 3. soprano (singer) 4. mango 5. rodeo 6. grotto 7. imbroglio 8. portfolio 9. brio 10. bozo 11. promo 12. piano 13. motto 14. banjo 15. DeSoto 16. cameo 17. tornado 18. logo 19. bravado 20. braggadocio

Answers:

(Disclaimer: Answers are based on the preferences of most dictionaries. Your mileage may vary.)

1. dominoes ("es" rule) 2. Sopranos (proper name) 3. sopranos (music) 4. mangoes ("es" rule) 5. rodeos ("o" preceded by vowel)

6. grottoes ("es" rule) 7. imbroglios ("o" preceded by vowel) 8. portfolios ("o" preceded by vowel) 9. brios ("o" preceded by vowel, seldom used as plural) 10. bozos (alien-looking)

11. promos (shortened from "promotions") 12. pianos (music) 13. mottoes ("es" rule) 14. banjos (music) 15. DeSotos (proper name)

16. cameos ("o" preceded by vowel) 17. tornadoes ("es" rule) 18. logos (shortened from "logotype") 19. bravados (seldom used as plural) 20. braggadocios (alien-looking, derived from a proper name, seldom used as plural, "o" preceded by a vowel, moon in the seventh house)