NOUN

SINGULAR AND
PLURAL NOUNS
CLASS XI GRAMMAR
SEMESTER 1
WISELY LEO CANDRA, S.S.
Learning
Objectives
01 To gain an understanding of the terms
'singular' and 'plural'.

02 To be able to change a singular noun

to plural form.

03 To be able to list key rules

regarding plural nouns.
A singular noun names one person, place, thing, or idea,
while a plural noun names more than one person, place,
thing, or idea. Countable nouns can be singular and plural.

There are a few basic rules to remember when it comes to

turning a singular noun into a plural noun.
The following table gives some rules for forming
plural nouns. There are some exceptions.
RULES FOR PLURAL NOUNS
Most nouns add s to form plural

Nouns that end with sh, ch, x, z, or s add es

Nouns end with vowel + y, add s

Nouns end with consonant + y, change y to i and add es

Nouns that end with f or fe, change f or fe to ves

Nouns end with vowel + o, add s

Nouns end with consonant + o, add es
REGULAR AND IRREGULAR PLURAL NOUNS
RULE Most nouns are made plural by adding -s to the end of the
01 singular form.

For example:
car – cars house – houses
dog – dogs student – students

RULE Singular nouns that end in ‘s’, ‘x’, ‘z’, ‘ch’, ‘sh’, or ‘ss’,
02 form the plural by adding –es.

For example:
bus – buses bench – benches
watch – watches blitz – blitzes

RULE The plural form of some nouns that end in ‘f’ or ‘fe’ is
03 made by changing the ending to -ves.

For example:
hoof – hooves calf – calves
knife – knives wife – wives
RULE Some nouns that end in ‘f’ simply add –s to form the
04 plural.

For example:
belief – beliefs cliff – cliffs
chief – chiefs roof – roofs

RULE Nouns that end in ‘o’ preceded by a vowel are made plural by
adding -s. Meanwhile, nouns that end in “o” preceded by a
05 consonant are made plural by adding -es.

For example:
piano – pianos
radio – radios tomato – tomatoes EXCEPTING photo - photos
video – videos potato – potatoes

When the ‘y’ follows a consonant, changing ‘y’ to ‘i’ and adding –es.
RULE When the ‘y’ follows a vowel, the plural is formed by retaining the ‘y’
06 and adding –s.

For example:
city – cities day – days
lady – ladies boy – boys
RULE There are some irregular plural nouns. The most common
07 ones are listed below.

For example:
man – men child – children
foot – feet mouse – mice

RULE
Some nouns use the same singular and plural form.
08

For example:
deer – deer offspring – offspring
moose – moose series – series

RULE Some nouns that English has borrowed from other

09 languages have foreign plurals.

For example:
criterion – criteria curriculum – curricula
formula – formulae thesis – theses
TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Change these singular nouns to plural nouns.
1. Medium = _____.
2. Sheep = _____.
3. Hero = _____.
4. Crisis = _____.
5. Species = _____.
6. Kangaroo = _____.
7. Shelf = _____.
8. Wolf = _____.