UNIVERSTY CENTRE OF NAAMA

English Department level: …….………

2012/2013 Module : GRAMMAR

Mr: FETHI
Plural Nouns

Nouns have a singular form and a plural form.

 The singular is the form that means only one:
boy, girl, soda, hamburger, etc.
 The plural is the form that means more than one:
boys, girls, sodas, hamburgers, etc.

EXERCISE 1. Write the form indicated.

Samples: the plural of window windows
the singular of kittens kitten
1. The singular of chairs …………………………..
2. The plural of passenger ……………………………
3. The singular of gloves …………………………
4. The plural of bandage ……………………………
5. The plural of tree ………………………….

Here are the singular and plural forms of a few more nouns.

SINGULAR(only PLURAL (more than

one) one)
1. hat Hats
2. box Boxes
3. leaf leaves
4. foot feet

From the above examples, you can see that there is no single rule for forming the
plural of nouns; there are several. If you memorize the rules and do the exercises
carefully, you will be well on your way to spelling plurals correctly.
Rule 1. For most nouns: Add s to the singular to form the plural.
SINGULAR PLURAL
ear + s = ears
chair + s = chairs
table + s = tables
face + s = faces
Question: Can I form the plural of words like class or dish by just adding s?
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Answer: No, because [classs] and [dishs] would be hard to pronounce. We must
do something else. This brings us to Rule 2.
Rule 2. For nouns ending in s, ss, sh, ch, o or x:add es to form the plural.

NOUNS ENDING IN s: class + es = classes / dress + es = dresses

NOUNS ENDING IN sh: dish + es = dishes / wish + es = wishes
NOUNS ENDING IN ch: bench + es = benches / lunch + es = lunches
NOUNS ENDING IN x: box + es = boxes / tax + es = taxes

Exceptions: The following nouns add neither s nor es, but form their plurals in an
irregular way:
Singular Plural
Man ……………
Woman …………..
Child ………………
Foot …………..
Tooth ………………
louse ……………..
mouse ……………
goose ………….
ox ………………

EXERCISE 2. Write the plural of the following nouns.

1. apple …………. 9. Woman……………….
2. price ………… 10. Annex……………….
3. ox ……………. . 11. eyelash………………
4. fee …………… . 12. mouse …………………
5. wax …………… 13. Goose ………………….
6. child ………… .14. radish …………………
7. glass ………… .15. genius ………………..
8. louse …………… .16. foot………………….

EXERCISE 3. Make the following nouns singular.

Sample: Grandchildren grandchild
1. lamps …………..
2. gentlemen …………
3. addresses …………..
4. flowers …………..
5. circuses ………….

Rule 3. For most nouns ending in f: Add s to form the plural.

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  belief + s = beliefs / grief + s = griefs / roof + s = roofs
Exceptions: The following nouns ending in f change f to v and add es: ves
 leaf leaves / loaf loaves
 half halves / self selves
 shelf shelves / thief thieves
 wolf wolves
But not in a name: Mr. Wolf The Wolfs

Rule 4. For three nouns ending in fe—knife, life, and wife:

Change f to v and add s to form the plural.
 knife knives
 life lives
 wife wives

EXERCISE 4. Write the plural of the following nouns.

Singular plural
1. thief
2. riff
3. loaf
4. grief
5. roof
6. proof
7. half
8. cliff
9. self
10. elf

EXERCISE 5. Make the following nouns singular.

Singular Plural
……… leaves
……… staffs
……… lives
……… selves
…….. churches
………. knives

Plural of Nouns Ending in y

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To form the plural of a noun ending in y—like way or lady—first ask:
Is the letter before y a vowel or a consonant?
Remember that the vowels are a, e, i, o, and u. All of the other letters of
the alphabet are consonants.
Now follow Rule 5 or 6.
Rule 5. If the letter before y is a vowel, add s to form the plural.
SINGULAR PLURAL
way + s = ways
key + s = keys
toy + s = toys
Rule 6. If the letter before y is a consonant, change the y to i and add es.
SINGULAR PLURAL /Z/
lady ladies
enemy enemies
spy spies
EXERCISE 6. Make the following nouns plural.
Singular Plural
1. valley …………..
2. baby …………
3. party …………..
4. highway ………….
5. company ……………
6. joy ……………
7. bakery …………..
8. monkey ……………
9. pharmacy ………….
10. chimney …………..
11. journey ………….
12. factory ………….
Highway : a main road, usually connecting large towns
EXERCISE 7. Make the following nouns singular.
Singular plural
………….. pennies
……………. turkeys
……………. holidays
. juries
………… attorneys ( lawyers)
…………. ferries
……………. bluejays (crow)
…………..

Plural of Nouns Ending in o

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Rule 7. If a noun ends in a vowel plus o, add s to form the plural.
ENDING SINGULAR PLURAL
VOWEL e + o stereo + s = stereos
VOWE L i + o radio + s = radios

Rule 8. If a noun ends in a consonant plus o, add s in most cases.

auto + s = autos
two + s = twos
alto + s = altos
piano + s = pianos
Exceptions: Add es to the following nouns:
potato + es = potatoes
tomato + es = tomatoes
echo + es = echoes
veto + es = vetoes

EXERCISE 8. Make the following nouns plural.

Singular Plural
1. studio ………….
2. rodeo …………
3. potato ………….
4. portfolio …………..
5. tomato ………….
6. ratio …………
7. veto ………..
8. trio ……….
9. echo …………
10. piano …………..
11.patio …………

Certain words have very irregular forms in the plural:

 one man --> two men

 one woman --> two women
 one person --> two people
 one foot --> two feet
 one mouse --> two mice
 one goose --> two geese
 one tooth --> two teeth
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  one wife --> two wives
 one child --> two children
 one knife --> two knives
 one thief --> two thieves
 one dwarf --> two dwarves or dwarfs)
 one potato --> two potatoes
 one leaf --> two leaves
 one life --> two lives
 one loaf --> two loaves
 one half --> two halves

A small set of words do not change form in the plural:

 one moose --> two moose (a large deer that lives in N America. In Europe and
Asia it is called an elk)
 one sheep --> two sheep
 one aircraft --> two aircraft

Words of Greek or Latin origin which have retained their original endings will
generally take the plural form associated with the language they are drawn from:

 one alumnus --> two alumni (the former male students of a school, college or
university)
 one alumna --> two alumnae (female)
 one syllabus --> two syllabi ( syllabuses)
 one alga --> many algae (seaweed ) /si:wi:d /very simple plants with no real
leaves, stems or roots that grow in or near water
 one criterion --> many criteria
 one forum --> many fora (or : forums)
 one thesis --> two theses
 one hypothesis --> two hypotheses
 one phenomenon --> two phenomena
 one cactus --> two cacti (or : cactuses) a plant that grows in hot dry regions.
 one diagnosis --> two diagnoses
 one oasis --> two oases
 one analysis --> two analyses

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 Countable Nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen".
We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:

 dog, cat, animal, man, person

 bottle, box, litre
 coin, note, dollar
 cup, plate, fork
 table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

 My dog is playing. / My dogs are hungry.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

 A dog is an animal.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
 I want an orange. (not I want orange.)/ Where is my bottle? (not Where is
bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
 I like oranges. / Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable nouns:

 I've got some dollars. / Have you got any pens?

We can use a few and many with countable nouns:

 I've got a few dollars.
 I haven't got many pens.

Uncountable Nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements.
We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or
"litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

 music, art, love, happiness

 advice, information, news
 furniture, luggage
 rice, sugar, butter, water
 electricity, gas, power
 money, currency

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:

 This news is very important. / Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an
information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:

 a piece of news / a bottle of water / a grain of rice

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We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

 I've got some money./ Have you got any rice?

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:

 I've got a little money. / I haven't got much rice.

Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".

Exercise: Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns: classify
them in the table below

( money- dollar-–information- furniture -advice- Song –Suitcase- Bottle- luggage-

report –Table- Battery-music –tip-scenery- view –- travel- journey- work- job)

Countable Uncountable
……………………………… ………………………………..
……………………………. ……………………………….
…………………………….. ………………………………..
…………………………… ……………………………….

NOTE: When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or uncountable.

Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable

Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of
meaning.

Countable Uncountable
There are two hairs in my coffee! hair I don't have much hair.
There are two lights in our bedroom. light Close the curtain. There's too much light!
Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.
It's difficult to work when there is too much
There are so many different noises in the noise
noise.
city.
Have you got a paper to read? (newspaper) I want to draw a picture. Have you got some
paper
Hand me those student papers. paper?
Our house has seven rooms. room Is there room for me to sit here?
We had a great time at the party.
time Have you got time for a coffee?
How many times have I told you no?
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest
work I have no money. I need work!
works.