Ms. Jasmin ELT

Plurals in English

Based on Grammarway 1 - Unit 1 (Pages 6-7)

Plural Number: Most nouns form their plural by adding '-s'

Image: a car and two cars

Most nouns form their plural by adding -s.

Singular: a car

Plural: two cars

Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -o take '-es'

Image: bus and buses

Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -o take -es in the plural.

Singular: bus, dress, brush, torch, box, tomato

Plural: buses, dresses, brushes, torches, boxes, tomatoes

Nouns ending in Consonant + y drop '-y' and take '-ies'

Image: a strawberry and three strawberries

Nouns ending in a consonant + y, drop the -y and take -ies in the plural.

Singular: strawberry, baby, story, country, secretary, hurry, study, apply, try

Plural: strawberries, babies, stories, countries, secretaries, hurries, studies, applies, tries

Nouns ending in Vowel + y take '-s'

Image: a boy and two boys

Nouns ending in a vowel + y take -s in the plural.

Singular: boy, monkey

Plural: boys, monkeys

Nouns ending in -f or -fe drop '-f or -fe' and take '-ves'

Image: a leaf and four leaves

Nouns ending in -f or -fe, drop the -f or -fe and take -ves in the plural.

Singular: leaf, wolf, knife, wife, shelf

Plural: leaves, wolves, knives, wives, shelves

Irregular Plurals: Some nouns are irregular

Image: Irregular Plurals Examples

Some nouns have irregular plural forms.

child -> children

man -> men

woman -> women

goose -> geese

tooth -> teeth

foot -> feet

ox -> oxen

mouse -> mice

sheep -> sheep

deer -> deer

Exceptions for -o and -f/-fe endings: Some take only '-s'

Image: Exceptions Examples

Some nouns ending in -o take only -s.

tomato -> tomatoes

radio -> radios, piano -> pianos, photo -> photos, rhino -> rhinos, hippo -> hippos, video -> videos, etc.

Some nouns ending in -f or -fe take only -s.

roof -> roofs

cliff -> cliffs, giraffe -> giraffes, cuff -> cuffs, chief -> chiefs, etc.

Pronunciation of Plural Endings

The suffix of the plural form is pronounced:

/s/ when the verb ends in /f/, /k/, /p/, /t/ or /θ/ sound.

cliffs, books, shops, cats, myths, etc.

/z/ when the verb ends in /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/ or /dʒ/ sound.

buses, foxes, brushes, torches, bridges, roses, mirages, etc.

/ɪz/ when the verb ends in any other sound.

rooms, boys, pears, leaves, lemons, pianos, etc.

Conclusion

Remember these rules to form plurals correctly in English! Practice makes perfect!