When we talk about the singular form of a noun, we are talking about only one thing.  When we talk about the plural form of a noun, we are talking about two or more things.

Pattern – plural forms have different spellings:

Usually, a plural form is spelled by adding –s to the end of the noun:

One kitten	Two kittens
One kite	Two kites

 

Nouns that end in –s, –sh, –ch, or –x form the plural by adding –es:

One bus	Three buses
One dish	Four dishes
One watch	Three watches
One fox	Two foxes

 

Nouns that end in –y (following a consonant) form the plural by changing the y to i and adding –es:  –ies:

One baby

Two babies

 

Nouns that end in –y (following a vowel:  a, e, i, o, or u) do not change the –y to –ies.  They just add –s:

One boy

Three boys

 

Nouns that end in –f or –fe change the –f to –ves:

One leaf	Several leaves
One knife	Several knives

 

And nouns that end in –o form the plural by adding –es:

One potato

Many potatoes

 

There are also nouns which have irregular plural forms.

One child	Many children
One man	Many men
One ox	Many oxen
One woman	Many women

One louse	Many lice
One mouse	Many mice

 

One foot	Many feet
One goose	Many geese
One tooth	Many teeth

Quite a number of irregular plural forms are a result of the influence of Latin on English:

One alumnus	Many alumni
One cactus	Many cacti
One focus	Many foci (focuses)
One fungus	Many fungi (funguses)
One nucleus	Many nuclei
One radius	Many radii
One stimulus	Many stimuli

One appendix	Many appendices
One index	Many indices (indexes)
One matrix	Many matrices (matrixes)

 

One antenna	Many antennae (antennas)
One formula	Many formulae (formulas)
One nebula	Many nebulae
One vertebra	Many vertebrae
One vita	Many vitae

 

One bacterium	Many bacteria
One curriculum	Many curricula
One datum	Many data
One medium	Many media
One memorandum	Many memoranda
One stratum	Many strata
One criterion	Many criteria
One phenomenon	Many phenomena
One genus	Many genera
One corpus	Many corpora

Some irregular plural forms are a result of the influence of Greek on English:

One axis	Many axes
One analysis	Many analyses
One basis	Many bases
One crisis	Many crises
One diagnosis	Many diagnoses
One ellipsis	Many ellipses
One hypothesis	Many hypotheses
One oasis	Many oases
One paralysis	Many paralyses
One parenthesis	Many parentheses
One synthesis	Many syntheses
One synopsis	Many synopses
One thesis	Many theses

Even French influence can be seen in a few irregular plural forms:

One beau	Many beaux
One bureau	Many bureaux (bureaus)
One tableau	Many tableaux (tableaus)

Some nouns do not change at all.  Their plural form is the same as their singular form:

One deer	Many deer
One fish	Many fish
One means	Many means
One offspring	Many offspring
One series	Many series
One sheep	Many sheep

Certain words always have a plural construction and use a plural verb, even though they are a single thing:

scissors:  Careful – those scissors are sharp.
(eye/sun)glasses:  I don’t know where my sunglasses are.
pants:  Steve’s pants were wrinkled.
jeans:  These jeans were on sale.
shorts:  Have you seen my gym shorts?  I thought I put them in the dirty laundry.
pajamas:  Jesse’s pajamas are full of holes.

We often use the phrase “a pair of ~”:

Have you seem my good pair of scissors?
Jack needs to get a new pair of glasses.
There’s a clean pair of pants in the drawer.
That pair of jeans doesn’t fit Tom any more.
This pair of shorts has a hole in the pocket.
Don’t forget to pack a pair of pajamas.

Certain words have plural construction because they refer to a group of persons/animals (collective nouns):

clergy: The clergy are highly respected.
people:  People are so busy that they don’t have time to relax.
police:  You’ll have to take a different route home – the police have blocked Main Street.

Note:  When we use “couple” or “pair” to refer to people, we use plural construction:

couple:  The elderly couple have been married for over 70 years.
pair:  James and John go everywhere together.  The pair are never apart.

Note:  The collective noun “number” uses plural construction in the phrase “a number of ____,” and singular construction in the phrase “the number of ____”:
number:

A number of women are expecting babies this summer.

but

The number of students getting As in trigonometry is small.

In American English, some collective nouns are often treated as singular, whereas in British English they are treated as plural:

audience	class	committee
corporation	crew	crowd
enemy	faculty	family
flock	government	group
herd	jury	panel
staff	team

 

Exercises.  Write the plural of the following words.

Example:

cat ==> cats

1.    cow
2.    tomato
3.    wish
4.    child
5.    thief
6.    box
7.    kitty
8.    tooth
9.    church
10.    dress
11.    bay
12.    man
13.    apple
14.    story
15.    wife

Exercises.  Use the pictures to complete the sentences.

Example:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Do you like ________ ?	2. I had two ________ for breakfast.
3. I have lost my ________ somewhere.	4. How many ________ do you have?

 

Exercises.  Rewrite any sentences that have incorrect plural forms.  If no correction is needed, write “OK.”

Example:

Take these boxs and put them in the car. ==> Take these boxes and put them in the car.
All the benches in the park were freshly painted.  ==>  OK

1.    Jack washed the dishs after dinner.
2.    The department store has a fine selection of watches.
3.    I have to return these bookes to the library.
4.    Whenever the sun is very bright, Father has to wear a sunglasses.
5.    All children like to get toyes for Christmas.
6.    Your backpack is so heavy.  What do you have in there – rocks?
7.    Grandfather had a flock of gooses on his farm.
8.    Have you seen “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”?
9.    Mother bought me a new jeans.
10.    Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.
11.    Would you like tomatos in your salad?
12.    I don’t care for peas.
13.    We need new batteries for the radio.
14.    Neon is one of the so-called “noble gasses.”
15.    The horse had injured one of its hoofs.

Exercises.  Choose the correct word to complete the sentence.

Example:

The people (is/are) tired and hungry.  ==> The people are tired and hungry.

1.    The police (is/are) asking everyone to stay off the roads due to the bad snowstorm.
2.    (Was/Were) there many people at the amusement park today?
3.    Have you seen my sunglasses?  I don’t know where I left (it/them).
4.    People usually (doesn’t/don’t) realize the importance of checking the air pressure in car tires.
5.    Once a month the local clergy (meets/meet) to have a prayer breakfast.
6.    My shorts (has/have) a hole in the pocket.
7.    Mother has (a/some) scissors in her sewing kit.
8.    (Has/Have) the police caught the bank robber yet?
9.    The couple (is/are) having their first baby next month.
10.    Most people (is/are) confused by the new rules.

 

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