Plural vs. Possessive

Plural Most nouns form the plural by adding -s or -es. Singular Plural boat boats hat hats house houses river rivers

Plural A noun ending in -y preceded by a consonant makes the plural with -ies. Singular Plural a cry cries a fly flies a poppy poppies a city cities a lady ladies a baby babies

Plural There are some irregular formations for noun plurals. Some of the most common ones are listed below. Singular Plural woman women man men child children tooth teeth foot feet person people leaf leaves

Plural Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural. sheep fish species aircraft

Plural Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb. news — The news is on at 6.30 p.m. athletics — Athletics is good for young people. linguistics — Linguistics is the study of language. darts — Darts is a popular game in England.

Plural Some nouns have a plural form and take a plural verb. Examples: trousers — My trousers are too tight. jeans — Her jeans are black. glasses — Those glasses are his.

Possessive Possessive nouns show ownership or possession. Most words simply get apostrophe S ('s). the box belonging to Steve -> Steve's box the bedroom of the child -> the child's bedroom

Possessive Plural nouns ending in S simply get an apostrophe (s'). the box belonging to the girls -> the girls' box the bedroom of the kids -> the kids' bedroom

Possessive For irregular plurals (not ending in S), add apostrophe S ('s). the coats of the women -> the women's coats the jackets of the children -> the children's jackets

Possessive For names ending in S, add apostrophe S ('s). the cat belonging to Charles -> Charles's cat the jacket of the Phyllis -> Phyllis's jackets

Possessive For names ending in S, simply add an apostrophe (s'). the cat belonging to Charles -> Charles' cat the jacket of the Phyllis -> Phyllis' jackets