Making Nouns Plural

In English, a noun is used to show a person, a place, or a thing. If we have one noun, we call
it singular. For example, dog, tree, and city are all singular nouns. If we want to show that we
have more than one noun, we need to make the noun plural. For most nouns, this means
adding the letter "s" to the end of the word (dog, trees). If a noun only needs "s", we call it a
regular noun. For other nouns, called irregular nouns, we need to change the word's ending
to make it plural (city → cities). Read the following resource to review regular and irregular
singular and plural nouns.

Plural forms of nouns

Generally, making plurals (more than 1 of something) is very easy in English.

For almost all nouns we form the plural by adding s.

o I have an apple
o I have 5 apples.

For nouns that end with the letter y, we form the plural by removing the y and adding ies.

o I have a fly
o I have 5 flies.

For nouns that end with the letter s (dress), ch (beach), x (box), sh (bush) or z (quiz), we form

the plural by adding es.

o I have a bus.
o I have 5 buses.

There are also a small number of nouns that are very irregular. The first word in the following
list is the singular form and the second word is the plural form:

o child - children
o man - men
o woman - women
o foot - feet
o tooth - teeth
o goose - geese
o mouse - mice
o fish - fish
o sheep - sheep
 o deer - deer

As you can see, with some words there is no change to form the plural. The plural form and
the singular form are exactly the same.

Sentence Agreement
Now that we're familiar with singular and plural nouns and verbs, we need to be sure we use
nouns and verbs together correctly. When writing a sentence, we want to take care to use the
same plural or singular tense to not confuse our readers. This is called "subject-verb agreement".
Take the following two sentences, for example; the first one uses correct subject-verb agreement,
while the second sentence makes an error in number agreement. Can you see the difference?

1. The pants are too small for my brother.

2. The pants is too small for my brother.

The noun "pants" is plural, so the verb needs to be plural, too. "Are" is plural, but "is" is singular,
so "pants are" is the correct use of the noun and verb together.

"The basic rule of sentence agreement is simple: A subject must agree with its verb in
number. Number means singular or plural" (Rozakis, 2003, p. 62). The subject may be either
singular or plural, and the verb selection should match the subject. The task sounds simple,
but it's not always easy to make the subject and verb match without some thought. Subject-
verb agreement errors are common errors many beginning writers make, and they are
highly-stigmatized errors, which means people will judge you for them.

Here are some tips to help you avoid subject-verb agreement errors.

1. When the subject of a sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns

connected by and, use a plural verb.

Suzy and her friend are missing the best movie ever!

2. When the subject of a sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns

connected by or, use a singular verb.
 The pen or the pencil is in the drawer, my purse, my book
bag, or perhaps, my pencil pouch.

3. Do not be confused by a phrase that comes between your subject and your verb.

Russell Wilson, as well as the rest of the Seattle

Seahawks, is ready for the game against the Green Bay
Packers.

4. Collective nouns can be tricky. Sometimes, they take a singular verb, and sometimes
they take a plural verb. It depends upon how they are being used. Collective nouns
are nouns such as family, team, and majority. 

5. Fractions can be especially tricky, but the rule is that fractions should be treated as
singular or plural, depending upon the noun they are referring to.

Two-thirds of the zombies in "The Walking

Dead" move slowly. The rest can apparently sprint.

Two-thirds of your cake  was eaten before you got home. 

English in Use – Verbs

In addition to using verbs for singular and plural nouns, verbs also tell the reader when
something happens. In English, a verb uses different tenses to tell the reader if it is an action
happening in the past, present, or future. Read this page to review verb tenses.

Verbs are the parts of speech that show action or indicate a state of being. We put them
with nouns, and we create complete sentences. Like nouns, verbs are foundational in our
vocabulary, and we learned verbs as children shortly after we learned nouns. There really is a
lot to consider when it comes to verbs, such as making our subjects and verbs agree, using
active versus passive voice, and keeping our verbs in the same tenses.
Verbs can be in the present tense, present progressive tense, past tense, past progressive,
present perfect, or past perfect. It's important to understand tense because you want to be
consistent with your verb tenses in your writing. It's a common mistake to shift
tenses without realizing it. This discussion of tenses can increase your "tense awareness",
which will lead to fewer errors.

Let's take the verb to eat as an example and see how it looks in the different tenses with the
subject I.

Tense Example

present tense (present point in time) I eat dinner.

present progressive (present action of limited duration) I am eating dinner.

past tense (specific point in the past) I ate dinner yesterday.

past progressive (past action of limited duration) I was eating.

present perfect (completed action from a point in the past

ending at or near present) I have eaten dinner.

past perfect (past action completed before another action I had just eaten dinner when the
also in the past) phone rang.

When it comes to verb tenses, it's important to be consistent and to be aware of any shifts.
If you shift, there needs to be a reason for the shift. Also, APA format will often require past
tense in your essays, while MLA format requires present tense, even if the words have been
written in

Verb Tense Shift

Just like with numbers, verbs need to agree in tense. If a sentence is talking about the past,
all the verbs need to remain in the past tense. Similarly, if the sentence is talking about the
present, all the verbs needs to stay in the present tense. When you have two sentences
giving information about the same event, keep the verbs from both sentences in the same
tense to avoid confusing the reader.

You want to be sure that you are always consistent with your verb tense. When you shift
verb tenses for no reason, which is an easy mistake to make, you can really confuse your
readers.

If you're writing in the present tense, be sure you stay in the present tense. If you're writing
in the past tense, be sure you stay in the past tense. The exception would be if you need to
shift tenses to tell a story, but that would be purposeful shifting. It's the random, accidental
shifting that causes the problems, as illustrated in this example:

She grabs my hand then flipped me like I weighed nothing.

This showed what a good self-defense course has done.

Here is what a corrected version of the sentence looks like:

She grabbed my hand then flipped me like I weighed nothing.

This showed what a good self-defense course has done.

You should also be aware that certain types of writing require either past or present tense.
For example, research in  APA format often needs to be presented in the past tense, but a
literary analysis written in MLA format needs to be presented using present tense verbs.
It's called the literary present tense. If you're ever unsure about tense requirements, be sure
to ask your teacher.

Unnecessary Tense Shift

Read this page for some examples of making sure your writing stays in the appropriate
tense.

What is a tense shift?

"Tense" refers to the time when an action takes place: past, present, or future. Necessary
tense shifts simply make it clear to your reader when actions have taken, are taking, or will
take place. When you "shift tense unnecessarily", however, it means you change the times
when actions are taking place within a chunk of text in a way that doesn't seem to make
sense. Notice how the tense changes cause confusion in these examples.

In February 2003, the Sefton City Council  passed  an ordinance

that  limited  the number of dogs city residents  could keep  on their
property to three. Several residents  objected  and
formally  petitioned  the council to repeal the ordinance, but the
council  upheld  it. Their reasoning  IS  that having more than three
dogs  creates  potentially dangerous situations. In November 2004,
however, changes in the Council's membership  resulted  in the
ordinance being repealed.

While  St. Cloud  struggles  with keeping rental housing from

dominating the housing market, other communities in central
Minnesota  undertook  several initiatives to build more apartments
and condominiums.

The best way to find unnecessary tense shifts is to read a piece of writing through one time
just looking for tense and asking yourself whether each verb tense accurately reflects the
time period it took place, takes place, or will take place in. Start by using a highlighter to
mark each verb, and then ask yourself if the "time" is correct for each one.

The correction:

In February 2003, the Sefton City Council  passed  an ordinance

that  limited  the number of dogs city residents  could keep  on their
property to three. Several residents  objected  and
formally  petitioned  the council to repeal the ordinance, but the
council  upheld  it. Their reasoning  WAS  that having more than three
dogs  creates  potentially dangerous situations. In November 2004,
 however, changes in the Council's membership  resulted  in the
ordinance being repealed.

(No reason exists to believe that those who then thought that three or more dogs in a
household created a dangerous situation have changed their minds or that dogs' behavior
in a group of three or more has changed. The composition of the council had changed, and
the composition of the city council having changed, the city council voted differently).

While St. Cloud  STRUGGLED  with keeping rental housing from

dominating the housing market, other communities in central
Minnesota  undertook  several initiatives to build more apartments
and condominiums.

if referring to a situation in the past – or –

While St. Cloud  STRUGGLES  with keeping rental housing from

dominating the housing market, other communities in central
Minnesota  UNDERTAKE  several initiatives to build more apartments
and condominiums.

if referring to a current situation.

Antonyms
English speakers and writers use antonyms to show opposites. Knowing when a word is
being used as an antonym can help you understand the meaning of another word or
sentence.

What is an antonym?
An antonym is a word that is the opposite  of another word. 

Antonyms can help a writer use more description. Recognizing an antonym can help a
reader understand what he or she is reading. 
When do I use an antonym?

Different kinds of antonyms can be used to show different contexts, for example:

 Antonyms can show time:

o Early - Late
o Past - Future
o Then - Now

 Antonyms can describe:

o Good - Bad
o Hard - Easy
o Bright - Dreary
o Light - Dark

 Antonyms can explain size:

o Big - Little
o Large - Small

 Antonyms can show location:

o Interior - Exterior
o Up - Down
o Above - Under

The study of antonyms will not only help you choose the most appropriate word as you
write; it will also sharpen your overall sense of language. This table lists common words and
their antonyms. 
 Word Antonym Word Antonym

absence presence frequent seldom

accept refuse harmful harmless

accurate inaccurate horizontal vertical

advantage disadvantage imitation genuine

ancient modern inhabited uninhabited

abundant scarce inferior superior

artificial natural intentional accidental

attractive repulsive justice injustice

borrow lend knowledge ignorance

bravery cowardice landlord tenant

create destroy, demolish likely unlikely

bold timid, meek minority majority

capable incapable miser spendthrift

combine separate obedient disobedient

conceal reveal optimist pessimist

common rare permanent temporary

 Word Antonym Word Antonym

decrease increase plentiful scarce

definite indefinite private public

despair hope prudent imprudent

discourage encourage qualified unqualified

employer employee satisfactory unsatisfactory

expand contract tame wild

forget remember vacant occupied

Context Clues
When you read, you use clues to help you figure out what is happening. Synonyms and
antonyms are useful as context clues. Recognizing synonyms tells you when something is
similar, and recognizing antonyms tells you when something is in contrast. When you don't
know a word, use any synonyms or antonyms around it to help you learn its meaning. Read
this page on context clues to see how you can use synonyms and antonyms to understand
what you read.

No matter what course or program you are taking, you will have new vocabulary and
terminology to learn. While many people turn quickly to their dictionaries for the meanings
of new words, this is not always a necessary strategy. Instead, it can be more meaningful to
try to reason out the meaning of the word, based on what we already know about it.
When authors write, they often give context clues to readers to suggest the meanings of
new or difficult words. Context clues usually give you a sense of a word's meaning, so you
can continue reading without referring to a dictionary. There are five main types of context
clues that may be embedded in sentences.

1. Definitions or Restatements
o The author directly defines the new word within the sentence. This strategy is
commonly used in textbook material.
o For example: "When people contravene – break or violate – a law in Canada,
they can expect to face legal consequences."
o Explanation: "Break or violate" is the definition of the word "contravene".
2. Synonyms
o The author uses a word or phrase with a similar meaning to suggest the
meaning of the new word.
o For example: "Following his death by accidental drug overdose, actor Heath
Ledger posthumously received an Oscar for best supporting actor for his
portrayal of The Joker in The Dark Knight."
o Explanation: "Following his death" has a similar meaning to the word
"posthumously."
3. Antonyms
o The author uses a word or phrase with an opposite meaning to suggest the
meaning of the new word.
o For example: "I really don't appreciate your duplicity. I expect you to give me
an honest response from now on."
o Explanation: "Honest response" has the opposite meaning of "duplicity" since
the speaker expects a different behaviour from the other person from that
point on.
4. Examples
 o The author provides examples or illustrations of the new word to suggest its
meaning.
o For example: "Bats, owls, raccoons, and crickets are chiefly nocturnal
creatures."
o Explanation: "Bats, owls, raccoons, and crickets" are examples of "nocturnal
creatures" (creatures of the night).
5. General Inference
o The author provides enough information in a sentence that the word's
meaning can be inferred.
o For example: "It would be an egregious mistake to wear a dirty t-shirt and
shabby blue jeans to a funeral."
o Explanation: Although "egregious" is not specifically defined, most people
would infer that it is inappropriate or offensive to wear worn out clothing at a
funeral.