Nouns: Plurals & Contractions Grammar: Lesson Three Nouns: Plurals & Contractions

Definition A SINGULAR noun names one person, place, thing, or idea. A PLURAL noun names more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

Plural nouns Most nouns in English are made into PLURAL NOUNS by adding an s to the singular form. one snake  two snakes one car  two cars one tree  two trees

Make the following nouns plural: Plural nouns If the noun ends with an s, ch, sh, x, or z, an es is added to make the noun plural. Make the following nouns plural: box loss dish quiz church house boxes losses quizzes dishes churches houses

Add s to nouns ending in a vowel and y. Plural nouns Add s to nouns ending in a vowel and y. key toy monkey keys toys monkeys

Plural nouns Change y to an i and add es to nouns ending in a consonant and y. sky hobby penny skies hobbies pennies

What about nouns that end in a vowel? Plural nouns What about nouns that end in a vowel? Add an s to nouns ending in a vowel and o. radio - radios zoo - zoos Add an s to musical terms ending in o. solo - solos cello - cellos

Plural nouns Nouns ending in a consonant and o should be learned. If you are not sure, check the dictionary. echo echoes potato potatoes tomato tomatoes zero zeros, zeroes hero heroes

Plural nouns Some nouns have special PLURAL FORMS.

Plural nouns Add s to many nouns ending in f, fe, or ff. roof - roofs cliff - cliffs But, some nouns drop the f or fe and add ves. calf – calves life - lives Some nouns have irregular plural forms! child - children ox - oxen

Plural nouns Some nouns have identical singular and plural forms deer - deer scissors - scissors For compound words, the most important word is usually made plural son-in-law/sons-in-law board of health/boards of health Add an ‘s to form the plural of letters or numbers used as a noun A – A’s 100 – 100’s

Write the plural form of each noun. Practice Write the plural form of each noun. 1. teacup A: teacups 2. goose A: geese 3. Iroquois A: Iroquois 4. class A: classes 5. auto A: autos

Practice 6. Department of Justice A: Departments of Justice 7. daughter-in-law A: daughters-in-law 8. leaf A: leaves 9. hobby A: hobbies 10. donkey A: donkeys

Definition A CONTRACTION is a word made by combining two words and leaving out one or more letters. An apostrophe shows where the letters have been left out.

The speaker is happy about her presentation. Contractions The speaker is happy about her presentation. We can join the two words speaker and is to create a contraction. SPEAKER’ S The speaker’s happy about her presentation.

Testing Your Knowledge What is a plural noun? more than one person, place, thing, or idea How are most nouns in English made plural? add an s What is a contraction? A word made by combining two words and leaving out one or more letters using an apostrophe