Singular & Plural Nouns: Notes, Examples, And Exercises (pdf)

Forming the Singular and Plural of Nouns WK

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The noun shoe is singular. It stands for only one shoe. The noun shoes is plural. It stands for more than one shoe.

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When a noun stands for one person, place, or thing, it is singular.

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When it stands for more than one person, place, or thing, it is plural.

FORMING PLURALS: The first two rules below cover most English nouns. The other five rules deal with words that you use frequently. 1. To most singular nouns, add s to form the plural: ropes

boots

books

desks

2. When the singular form ends in s, sh, ch, x, or z, add es: glasses

bushes

coaches

boxes

buzzes

3. When a singular noun ends in o, add s to make it plural: rodeos

studios

photos

Eskimos

solos

pianos

For a few words ending in o, preceded by a consonant, add es: potatoes

heroes

cargoes

echoes

tomatoes

4. When the singular noun ends in y with a consonant before it, change the y to I and add es: city—cities

lady—ladies

country—countries

If the y is preceded by a vowel ( a, e, I, o, u ) , do not change the y to i. Simply add s: toy—toys

play—plays

day—days

5. When a noun ends in f, simply add s: Beliefs

chiefs

dwarfs

handkerchiefs

When words end in f or fe, change the f to v and add es or s. Since there is no rule to follow, these words have to be memorized. Here are some examples of such words: thief—thieves shelf—shelves loaf—loaves

leaf—leaves half—halves wife—wives

life—lives calf—calves knife—knives

6. Some nouns have the same form for both singular and plural. Memorize these: deer tuna

salmon cod

trout pike

sheep bass

moose elk

7. Some nouns form their plurals in special ways: child—children mouse—mice

goose—geese ox—oxen

man—men woman—women

Below is a the dictionary entry for the word knife. Notice that the entry shows the plural, knives. Most dictionaries show the plurals of nouns If the plurals are formed in an irregular way.

knife ¦nīf¦ noun ( pl. knives ¦nīvz¦) a cutting instrument composed of a blade and a handle into which it is fixed, either rigidly or with a joint. • an instrument such as this used as a weapon. • a cutting blade forming part of a machine. When you are in doubt about plurals, consult a dictionary. Examples: Write the plural of each of these nouns. Then use your dictionary to see if you are right. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

church brush elf wish potato

6. dish 7. elk 8. sheep 9. fox 10. tooth

Exercise A: Follow the directions from the examples on the previous page. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

company watch bookshelf chimney lady

6. baby 7. city 8. mouse 9. witch 10. radio

Exercise B: All but one of the following sentences has at least one error in the spelling of the plural. Write the sentences correctly. 11. We places all of the dishs on the benches in the hallway. 12. Several different companys make CB radioes. 13. The thieves took several loaves of bread. 14. The babys were getting new tooths. 15. Several companys sell frozen mashed potatos. 16. First, cut the loafs in halves. 17. The deers were eating the green shoots on the bushs. 18. Use these brushs to pain the bookshelfs. 19. The larger boxes had scratchs on them. 20. My blue jeans are covered with patchs. 11. ____________________________________________________________________ 12. ____________________________________________________________________ 13. ____________________________________________________________________ 14. ____________________________________________________________________ 15. ____________________________________________________________________ 16. ____________________________________________________________________ 17. ____________________________________________________________________ 18. ____________________________________________________________________ 19. ____________________________________________________________________ 20. ____________________________________________________________________