Masculine plural nouns ending with -а and -я

As a general rule, masculine plural nouns end in -ы or -и, but there are exceptions.
For example, some nouns get the endings –a or –я, which is typical for plural neuter nouns, not masculine ones. This group includes widely used words and unfortunately there is no other way to recognize them except to memorize. 

Check it out:

• дом → дома 
• город → города
• поезд → поезда
• паспорт → паспорта
• лес → леса
• остров → острова
• вечер → вечера
• номер → номера
• адрес → адреса
• цвет → цвета
• профессор → профессора
• доктор → доктора
• учитель → учителя

Don’t forget that the endings -а and -я in masculine plural nouns are always stressed.