Plural Rules

Singular Nouns A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. A singular noun names only one person, place, thing, or idea. one boy one forest one apple one piece

Plural Nouns A plural noun names two or more people, places, things, or ideas. some boys six forests two apples many pieces What do you notice about each of the words in the plural list above?

Rule 1 To form the plural of most nouns you simply add an s to the end of the noun. Singular Plural boy boys hair hairs trap traps girl girls door doors voice voices wood woods

Rule 2 If the noun ends in sh, ch, x, s, or z add es to make it plural. Notice that these words all end in a “hissing” sound. Singular Plural brush brushes lunch lunches fox foxes success successes buzz buzzes

Rule 3 If a noun ends in a consonant plus y, the y changes to i before es is added. Note: If the noun ends in a vowel plus y, just add s. What are the vowels? a e i o u All the other letters are consonants.

Rule 3 continued So Play ends in a (vowel) and y therefore the plural form is plays. Monkeys ends in e (vowel) and y therefore the plural form is monkeys. Likewise Party ends in t (consonant) and y therefore the plural form is parties. Candy ends in d (consonant) and y therefore the plural form is candies.

Plurals ending in y Singular Plural boy boys baby babies lily lilies family families pony ponies day days

Rule 4 Singular Plural loaf loaves thief thieves Most of the words that end with f, ff, or fe are made plural by changing the ending to -ves.

The exceptions Singular Plural chief chiefs cliff cliffs proof proofs belief beliefs gulf gulfs roof roofs safe safes sniff sniffs chef chefs ref refs giraffe giraffes cafe cafes There are exceptions that must be memorized or looked up.

More exceptions A few nouns ending in f or ff have two plural forms. Singular Plural dwarf dwarfs OR dwarves hoof hoofs OR hooves scarf scarfs OR scarves wharf wharfs OR wharves staff staffs OR staves

Online Activity Practice with Rules 1, 4, & 2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/spellits/swf/y5_activity1.swf

Rule 5 Words that end in o are usually made plural by adding s. Singular Plural poncho ponchos tobacco tobaccos

Rule 5 exceptions Singular Plural echo echoes hero heroes potato potatoes tomato tomatoes torpedo torpedoes There are exceptions that must be memorized or looked up. .

Try to remember There are two helpful rules: All words that end in a vowel plus o (ao, eo, io, oo, uo) have plurals that end in just s. All musical terms ending in o have plural ending in just s.

Try these words in spell check Singular Plural avocado avocados OR avocadoes buffalo buffalos OR buffaloes desperado desperados OR desperadoes domino dominos OR dominoes halo halos OR haloes hobo hobos OR hoboes lasso lassos OR lassoes mosquito mosquitos OR mosquitoes motto mottos OR mottoes tornado tornados OR tornadoes volcano volcanos OR volcanoes zero zeros OR zeroes A few nouns ending in o have two plural forms.

Online Activity Practice with Rules 3 and 5 http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/spellits/activities_y5/activity2.shtml

Rule 6 Singular Plural sheep moose deer fish salmon tuna trout bison series swine corps Some words are the same in both the singular and the plural forms.

Rule 7 Singular Plural mouse mice child children man men tooth teeth foot feet goose geese person people ox oxen louse lice woman women Some words form their plural by changing the whole word. These are called irregular nouns. With irregular nouns, you have to memorize the plural form.

Rule 8 air ice baggage meat beef oil biology oxygen blood poetry clothing rice corn shopping dust soccer electricity sugar fog sunshine garbage syrup gold toast Some nouns are called noncount nouns. You don't make noncount nouns plural.

End If you follow these rules, you will be a better speller.