The plurals of nouns ending in f or fe are formed in one of two ways: If the final f sound is still heard in the plural form of the word, add only an s; if the final f sound becomes a v sound, change the f to ve and add s.
Plural ends with f sound:
proof - proofs; safe - safes
Plural ends with v sound:
shelf - shelves; life - lives
Plural ends with either sound:
scarf - scarfs, scarves
(From Write for Business, page 210, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 22)
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