sPELLING 5 Plurals Regular Nouns Nouns Ending in y Nouns Ending with o Nouns Ending in f or fe Compound Nouns Numerals, Letters, Symbols, and Words as Words Other Plural Forms Words from Latin and Greek Spelling Numbers Numerals or Number Words Ordinal Numbers Numbers in Dates Prefixes and Suffixes Suffixes –ness and –ly Words Ending in e Words Ending in y Doubling the Final Consonant

1. Regular Nouns To form the plural of most nouns, simply add s. MOST NOUNS Singular artist symbol maze sardine Plural artists symbols mazes sardines If a noun ends with s, ch, sh, x, or z add es to form the plural. S, CH, SH, X, AND Z Singular loss church dish fox Plural losses churches dishes foxes

2. Nouns Ending in y Add s to form the plural of a noun ending with a vowel and y. VOWELS AND Y Singular day display journey toy Plural days displays journeys toys Change the y to i and add es to a noun ending in a consonant and y. CONSONANTS AND Y Singular memory trophy lady society Plural memories trophies ladies societies

3. Nouns Ending with o Add s to form the plural of a noun ending with a vowel and o. Singular ratio studio rodeo igloo Plural ratios studios rodeos igloos Add s to form the plural of musical terms ending in o. Singular alto duo piano cello Plural altos duos pianos cellos The plurals of nouns ending in a consonant and o do not follow a regular pattern. Singular echo veto silo ego Plural echoes vetoes silos egos Words in bold type are your spelling words to learn.

4. Nouns Ending in f or fe To form the plural of some nouns ending in f or fe, just add s. Singular belief gulf chef fife Plural beliefs gulfs chefs fifes For some nouns ending in f or fe, change the f to v and add es or s. Singular half shelf leaf knife Plural halves shelves leaves knives Words in bold are spelling words.

5. Compound Nouns Most compound nouns are made plural in the same way as other nouns. The letter s or es is added to the end of the word. However, when the main word in a compound noun appears first, that word becomes plural. Examples snowflake lunchbox hallway snowflakes lunchboxes hallways Exceptions passerby editor-in-chief mother-in-law passersby editors-in-chief mothers-in-law Learn plural forms of these words.

6. Numerals, Letters, Symbols, and Words as Words To form the plurals of numerals, letters, symbols, and words used as words, add an s. To prevent confusion, it is best to use an apostrophe and s with a lowercase letters, some capital letters, and some words used as words. EXAMPLES Those Gs look like 6s. Swing dancing from the 1940s is back. Use *s to mark footnotes. Don’t give me an ifs, ands, or buts. EXCEPTIONS There are fours i’s and four s’s in Mississippi. Name five foods that are shaped like O’s. We need an equal number of he’s and she’s.

7. Other Plural Forms Irregular plurals are not formed by adding s or es. IRREGULAR PLURALS SINGULAR tooth foot mouse child woman PLURAL teeth feet mice children women Some nouns have the same form for singular and plural. SAME SINGULAR AND PLURAL Vietnamese Sioux salmon headquarters Japanese deer species measles Swiss moose scissors politics

8. Words from Latin and Greek Some nouns from Latin and Greek have plurals that are formed as they are in the original language. For a few Latin and Greek words, there are two ways to form the plural. FOREIGN WORDS EXAMPLES alumnus memorandum crisis thesis alumni memoranda crises theses EXCEPTIONS hippop0tamus hippopotamuses or hippopotami formula formulas or formulae

9. SPELLING NUMBERS When you are writing something that includes numbers, you may be unsure whether you should write the number in words or use a numeral or numerals. Use the following generalizations to help guide you.

10. Numerals or Number Words Spell out numbers that can be written in one or two words. Use numerals for other numbers. Always spell out a number that begins a sentence. The election was held ten days ago. The final vote was 563 for and 1,067 against. Six hundred thirty people came out to vote. When you have a series of numbers, and some are just one or two words while others are more, use numerals for them all. In the “Favorite Ice Cream Flavor Poll,” 347 young people said chocolate was their favorite flavor; 158 liked brownie fudge; 121 liked chocolate chip; and 40 liked vanilla best.

11. Ordinal Numbers Numbers in Dates Always spell out numbers used to tell the order. He promised to be here first thing in the morning. Andrea wanted to finish first, but she came in third. Numbers in Dates Use a numeral for a date when you include the name of the month. Always use numerals for the year. EXAMPLES Dr. Suess’s birthday is March 2. He was born in 1904. EXCEPTIONS Do you know anyone whose birthday is the twenty-ninth of February? (Always spell out ordinal numbers.)

12. Prefixes and Suffixes A prefix is one or more syllables placed in front of a base word to form a new word. When you add a prefix, the spelling of the base word does not change. PREFIXES in + accurate = inaccurate re + tell = retell pre + arrange = prearrange over + do = overdo dis + satisfied = dissatisfied mis + use = misuse re + evaluate = reevaluate un + able = unable ir + regular = irregular il + legal = illegal

13. Suffixes Suffixes –ness and –ly A suffix is one or more syllable placed after a base word to change its part of speech and possibly also its meaning. Suffixes –ness and –ly The suffixes –ness and –ly are added to most base words without any spelling changes. -NESS AND –LY open + ness = openness cruel + ly = cruelly plain + ness = plainness real + ly = really

14. Words Ending in e Drop the final e in the base word when adding a suffix that begins with a vowel. SUFFIXES WITH VOWELS EXAMPLES drive + ing = driving isolate + ion = isolation sane + ity = sanity EXCEPTIONS courage + ous = courageous pronounce + able = pronounceable

15. Words Ending in e Keep the final e when adding a suffix that begins with a consonant. SUFFIXES WITH CONSONANTS EXAMPLES care + ful = careful price + less = priceless like + ness = likeness state + ment = statement EXCEPTIONS argue + ment = argument true + ly = truly

16. WORD ALERT! If you are adding –ly to a word to make the word an adverb, be sure you add the suffix to the correct word. Two adverbs that are often confused are respectively and respectfully. respectively – [respective + ly] in the order given The postal abbreviations for Nebraska and Nevada are respectively NE and NV. respectfully – [respectful + ly] in a polite or courteous manner He answered his grandmother’s curious questions respectfully.

17. Write One Sentence For this slide, please write one sentence containing the words respectively and respectfully.

18. Words Ending with y To add a suffix to most words ending with a vowel and y, keep the y. SUFFIXES WITH VOWELS AND Y EXAMPLES enjoy + able = enjoyable joy + ful = joyful day + ly = daily gay + ly = gaily To add a suffix to most words ending in a consonant and y, change the y to i before adding the suffix. SUFFIXES WITH CONSONANTS AND Y EXAMPLES easy + ly = easily worry + ed = worried EXCEPTIONS shy + ness = shyness study + ing = studying

19. Doubling the Final Consonant Sometimes the final consonant in a word is doubled before a suffix is added. This happens when the suffix begins with a vowel and the base word satisfies both these conditions: (1) it has only one syllable or is stressed on the final syllable, and (2) it ends in one consonant preceded by one vowel. DOUBLE CONSONANTS One-Syllable Words hop + ing = hopping grin + ed = grinned red + est = reddest Final Syllable Stressed refer + al = referral begin + er = beginner refer + ing = referring remit + ed = remitted