diff --git a/.changeset/fluffy-dots-decide.md b/.changeset/fluffy-dots-decide.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..29e8e1164
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fluffy-dots-decide.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+'myst-cli-utils': patch
+'myst-cli': patch
+---
+
+Improve plural function to add `y|ies` endings for words.
diff --git a/packages/myst-cli-utils/src/utils.ts b/packages/myst-cli-utils/src/utils.ts
index 5d4435453..2b98978d0 100644
--- a/packages/myst-cli-utils/src/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/myst-cli-utils/src/utils.ts
@@ -51,6 +51,8 @@ export function tic() {
  *
  * `plural('%s book(s)', books)`
  *
+ * `plural('%s dependenc(y|ies)', deps)`
+ *
  * If passed an object as the second argument, the number of keys will be used.
  */
 export function plural(f: string, count?: number | any[] | Record<any, any>): string {
@@ -60,5 +62,8 @@ export function plural(f: string, count?: number | any[] | Record<any, any>): st
       : Array.isArray(count)
       ? count?.length
       : Object.keys(count ?? {}).length) ?? 0;
-  return f.replace('%s', String(num)).replace(/\(s\)/g, num === 1 ? '' : 's');
+  return f
+    .replace('%s', String(num))
+    .replace(/\(s\)/g, num === 1 ? '' : 's')
+    .replace(/\(([a-z0-9A-Z-]*)\|([a-z0-9A-Z-]*)\)/g, num === 1 ? '$1' : '$2');
 }
diff --git a/packages/myst-cli/src/build/utils/getFileContent.ts b/packages/myst-cli/src/build/utils/getFileContent.ts
index ab6c72c60..de6be5faf 100644
--- a/packages/myst-cli/src/build/utils/getFileContent.ts
+++ b/packages/myst-cli/src/build/utils/getFileContent.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { resolve } from 'node:path';
-import { tic } from 'myst-cli-utils';
+import { plural, tic } from 'myst-cli-utils';
 import type { LinkTransformer } from 'myst-transforms';
 import type { ISession } from '../../session/types.js';
 import {
@@ -92,9 +92,10 @@ export async function getFileContent(
   );
   session.log.info(
     toc(
-      `📚 Built ${allFiles.length} pages for export (including ${
-        allFiles.length - files.length
-      } dependencies) from ${projectPath} in %s.`,
+      `📚 Built ${plural('%s page(s)', allFiles)} for export (including ${plural(
+        '%s dependenc(y|ies)',
+        allFiles.length - files.length,
+      )}) from ${projectPath} in %s.`,
     ),
   );
   return selectedFiles;