Scarfs or Scarves—What's the Plural of Scarf?

Scarfs or Scarves—What’s the Plural of Scarf?

Do you like wearing a warm scarf around your neck in the wintertime? Which is the correct plural of scarf—scarfs or scarves?

The correct way to spell the plural of scarf is scarfs or scarves. Though the plurals are interchangeable, there is a difference in pronunciation. You can hear the F and the S at the end of scarfs, but scarves ends with a V sound and the final S sounds like a Z. Scarves is more popular than scarfs. Does it sound more correct to you? It could be because of other nouns that end in an F sound when singular and -ves when plural. For example, thief becomes thieves and knife becomes knives. Let’s look at some examples of scarves and its alternative plural scarfs in a sentence.

I prefer nylon scarves over wool ones because they are less scratchy.

Scarfs go on sale at the end of winter.

Examples

I will love you as an airplane loves to fall from a clear blue sky and as an escalator loves to entangle expensive scarves in its mechanisms.

Lemony Snicket, The Beatrice Letters

There is quite a difference between the light, elegant scarfs of summer and the warm comfortable winter ones.

News 24

Did learning about scarves get you in the mood for plurals? Check out this article about how to make bus plural.

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