What Is the Plural of Hero?
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
What Is the Plural of Hero?
Many movies feature a hero who comes to the rescue or otherwise saves the day. But what happens when more than one hero arrives to protect humanity from an intergalactic league of hostile aliens? What would be the correct spelling for the word meaning more than one hero?
If you’ve ever wondered about the spelling for the plural of hero, you aren’t alone. In this article, we’ll give you the right word as well as point out why properly spelling the plural can be so elusive.
What Is the Plural Form of the Word Hero in English?
The plural of hero is heroes. Note that the word is spelled with an -es at the end. That means an alternate spelling such as heros is incorrect unless it is referring to a hero (submarine) sandwich.
Let’s look at correct spellings in a few examples:
The people who testified in court were unsung heroes in stopping the company’s illegal activities.
Heroes aren’t born; they are created by times and circumstances.
When I was growing up, my heroes were often athletes and movie stars, but now that I am grown, I admire good role models such as teachers and firefighters.
I’ll take three jumbo heros with extra pastrami to go.
Now that you know the correct spelling and usage of the word heroes, let’s consider why it can be confusing in the first place.
Why Is Spelling the Plural of Hero So Tricky?
American English is replete with words that are difficult to pluralize. In particular, words that end with -o can be inconsistent. Some can be pluralized simply by adding -s, whereas others get an -es ending.
Examples
radio > radios
video > videospotato > potatoes
tomato > tomatoes
Believe it or not, the distinction isn’t that some words are food-based. Instead, it’s that they can have either different pronunciations when spoken aloud or different roots in other languages.
Either way, those with an -es ending are called irregular plural nouns. The best way to learn them is simply by practicing (e.g., spelling them out repeatedly or using flashcards for the words’ plural and singular forms).
Some of these of words might seem difficult to master at first, but with a little repetition, you’ll soon find yourself spelling the irregular plurals correctly and naturally. Before you know it, you’ll be among the other heroes of better writing and grammar.
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And yet, if I’m not mistaken, the plural of the sandwich know as a “hero” is heros.
You are correct.