ENGLISH PLURALS

The plural form of

most nouns is created
simply by adding the
letter 's' to the end of
the word .
hour hours
tree trees
noun - nouns

Most nouns ending

in -f or -fe, drop the
f and add 'ves'.
wolf wolves
wife wives
Most words ending
in -is, drop the -is
and add -es.
crisis crises
oasis - oases

Nouns that end in -ch,

-x, -s, -sh, zz or s-like
sounds, the plural is
formed by adding 'es'
to the end of the word.
watch watches
box boxes
gas gases
brush brushes
Nouns that end in a
single -z, the plural is
formed by adding 'zes'
to the end of the word.
quiz - quizzes
There are many
common nouns that
have irregular plurals.
man - men
woman - women
child - children
mouse - mice
tooth - teeth
goose - geese
foot - feet
ox oxen
person - people

Some nouns
(especially those
associated with two
things) exist only in
the plural form and
take a plural verb
(are / were...).
cattle
scissors
trousers
tweezers |
congratulations |

Exercises:

Most nouns ending in

-o preceded by a
consonant also form
their plurals by adding
'es' .
potato potatoes
volcano volcanoes
However many newly
created words and
words with a Spanish
or Italian origin that
end in -o just add an
's'.
piano pianos
photo - photos
Some nouns have
identical plural and
singular forms,
although they are still
considered to have a
plural form.
sheep sheep
fish fish
aircraft - aircraft

Nouns that stem from

older forms of English
or are of foreign origin
often have odd plurals.
index - indices or
indexes
phenomenon
phenomena
antenna - antennae
antennas
cactus cacti cactuses

Nouns ending in a
consonant + y, drop
the y and add 'ies'.
lady ladies
party - parties

Uncountable nouns
on the other hand
have no plural form
and take a singular
verb (is / was ...).
advice
money
information
traffic
news
sugar

In compound nouns
the plural ending is
usually added to the
main noun.
passer-by - passers-by
mother-in-law
mothers-in-law
fireman firemen
attorney general attorneys general

1. Write the plural of each of these nouns:

dress - brush - .. touch - ..
wish - . class - ........... sketch - ..
fox - cross - . star -
bench - bush - ..city - ............
ax - .. grass - . cherry -
mantis - . buzz - . essay - ..
box- ..dish - baby - .
church - ..boy - . story - .
volley - .. chimney - . day -
cargo - ..mosquito - .hero -
canto - . solo - .. piano - ..
leaf - . life - .. loaf - .
shelf - . half- ...chief - .
roof - .. belief - ..
2. Tell if the following nouns are singular or plural:
box - . cats - ..slipper - ..
forks - . books - . chair -
desk - . houses - paper -
wagon - .. lamps - . shoes - ..
garden - .. horses - dress - .
dog - carts - .. kitchen -
pony - . glass - .
3. Write the singular of the following nouns:
bells . churches .. wagons .
coals . pictures clocks ..
boxes kitchens basins.
chairs days .. houses
pencils .. trees ... tables.
4. Turn the following sentences into singular:
a) Dogs are good friends to men.
..
b) Fir trees grow in the mountains.

c) Women do not watch football matches.

d) Children usually change their teeth when they are six years old.
.
e) These men have got new cars.
.
f) Those geese are right next to the horses.