Form and use plurals: review
Key Notes:
- Definition of Plurals
Plurals refer to the forms of nouns that indicate more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
- Basic Rules for Forming Plurals
- Regular Nouns: Most nouns form their plurals by adding -s.
Example: book → books, cat → cats - Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z: Add -es.
Example: box → boxes, bus → buses - Nouns ending in -y: Change -y to -ies if preceded by a consonant.
Example: city → cities, lady → ladies - Irregular Nouns: Some nouns have unique plural forms.
Example: child → children, mouse → mice
- Irregular Plurals and Exceptions
Certain nouns do not follow the standard rules for pluralization. These irregular forms must be memorized.
Examples: man → men, foot → feet
- Uncountable Nouns
Some nouns, such as “water” or “information,” do not have plural forms because they represent uncountable quantities.
- Plural of Compound Nouns
For compound nouns (two or more words combined to form a noun), the main noun usually takes the plural form.
Example: mother-in-law → mothers-in-law
- Nouns with the Same Singular and Plural Forms
Some nouns have identical singular and plural forms.
Examples: sheep → sheep, deer → deer
Let’s practice!✒️
