Plurals

The aim of today’s lesson is to create an

understanding of the rules on how to spell
words correctly in the plural form.
By the end of the lesson:

 All learners will be able to spell words plural

with an ‘s’.
 Most learners will be able to recognise the
different rules for spelling words plural.
 Some learners will be able to correctly spell
words plural following these rules.
 Most words have a plural form and it is
important that you know how to spell these
words in that form.
 There are a number of rules to remember
when it comes to making words plural.
 There are also some exceptions to these
rules.
A noun is a word class used to identify a
person, thing, quality or action.
 Most nouns have both a singular and a plural
form.
Noun examples:
 Chair
 Table
 Kitchen
 Flower
 Apple
Singular noun = refers only to one
e.g. one table
one girl
one doctor
Plural nouns = refers to more than one
e.g. tables is the plural form of the singular
word table.
Rule number one:
Add an ‘s’
This is the most common and straight forward
rule to make a word plural.
e.g. bike bikes
kitchen kitchens
Vowels A E I O U

Consonants B C D F G H J K L M
N P Q R S T V W X Y Z
If there is a consonant before the y, change the
y to i before adding es.
e.g. lady ladies
baby babies
If there is a vowel before the y, just add s.
e.g. toy toys
day days
For words ending in x, ch, sh or s add es
e.g. church churches
fox foxes
bush bushes
For these words, change the f or fe to v before
adding es.

e.g. leaf leaves

knife knives
Watch out for words that do not fit that rule
e.g. chief chiefs

To help work out the exceptions to this rule

listen for the change in sound when you say
the word in its plural form.
 Roof = roofs
 Belief = beliefs
 Chef = chefs
 Handkerchief = handkerchiefs
Irregular plurals are words that do not follow
any of the plural rules we have covered.
For example:
 Woman = women
 Tooth = teeth
 Sheep = sheep
 Ox = oxen
 Deer = deer
Remember:
 Different words have different rules for
making them plural.
 The most simple way to make a word plural is
to add an s however not all words follow this
rule.
 Be aware what letter comes before the letter
you are changing in order to make the word
plural e.g. vowel or consonant?
Any questions?