[Image: Irregular Plurals — comparison chart with pictures showing child→children, tooth→teeth, mouse→mice, etc.]
Learning Objectives
- Students will review the basic rules of adding -s and -es to form plurals.
- Students will learn special rules: consonant+y, vowel+y, -f/-fe words.
- Students will know words that stay the same in singular and plural.
- Students will memorise common irregular plurals.
Let Us Begin!
You already know that singular means one and plural means more than one. You know that we usually add -s to make a word plural (cat/cats, pen/pens). But English has many special rules for forming plurals. Let us learn all of them!
Review: Basic Rules
Rule 1: Most nouns -- just add -s: book/books, girl/girls, dog/dogs, mango/mangoes.
Rule 2: Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -o -- add -es: bus/buses, glass/glasses, brush/brushes, watch/watches, box/boxes, potato/potatoes.
Rule 3: Consonant + y
If a noun ends in a consonant + y, change the y to i and add -es.
baby → babies, city → cities, story → stories, lady → ladies, army → armies, fly → flies
Look at the letter before y. In "baby," the letter before y is "b" (a consonant). So we change y to i and add -es.
Rule 4: Vowel + y
If a noun ends in a vowel + y, simply add -s. Do not change the y.
boy → boys, toy → toys, key → keys, day → days, monkey → monkeys, donkey → donkeys
In "boy," the letter before y is "o" (a vowel). So we just add -s.
Rule 5: Words Ending in -f or -fe
For many nouns ending in -f or -fe, change the f/fe to v and add -es.
leaf → leaves, knife → knives, wife → wives, wolf → wolves, shelf → shelves, life → lives, half → halves, thief → thieves
Rule 6: Same Singular and Plural
Some nouns do not change at all. The singular and plural forms are the same.
sheep → sheep, fish → fish, deer → deer, aircraft → aircraft
We say "one sheep" and "five sheep" -- the word does not change!
Rule 7: Irregular Plurals
Some nouns change their spelling completely. These must be memorised.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|
| man | men |
| woman | women |
| child | children |
| tooth | teeth |
| foot | feet |
| mouse | mice |
| goose | geese |
| ox | oxen |
Comprehensive Table
All Rules at a Glance
| Rule | Singular | Plural |
|---|
| Add -s | book, girl, dog | books, girls, dogs |
| Add -es | bus, brush, watch | buses, brushes, watches |
| Consonant + y → -ies | baby, city, story | babies, cities, stories |
| Vowel + y → add -s | boy, toy, key | boys, toys, keys |
| -f/-fe → -ves | leaf, knife, wolf | leaves, knives, wolves |
| No change | sheep, fish, deer | sheep, fish, deer |
| Irregular | man, child, tooth | men, children, teeth |
Key Words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|
| Singular | A word that means only one (a cat, a child) |
| Plural | A word that means more than one (cats, children) |
| Consonant | All letters except a, e, i, o, u |
| Vowel | The letters a, e, i, o, u |
| Irregular plural | A plural that does not follow the usual rules |
Key Points to Remember
- Most nouns: add -s (pen/pens). Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -o: add -es (box/boxes).
- Consonant + y: change y to i, add -es (baby/babies). Vowel + y: just add -s (boy/boys).
- Words ending in -f/-fe: change to -ves (leaf/leaves, knife/knives).
- Some words stay the same: sheep, fish, deer.
- Irregular plurals must be memorised: man/men, child/children, tooth/teeth, ox/oxen.
Practice Questions
A. Write the Plural of the Following Words
1. wife →
2. story →
3. monkey →
4. shelf →
5. foot →
6. deer →
7. city →
8. goose →
B. Fill in the Blanks with the Correct Plural Form
1. The farmer has ten (sheep) in his field.
2. Rani bought two (knife) from the shop.
3. Many (child) were playing in the park near our colony.
4. The (leaf) fall from the trees in autumn.
5. There are three (mouse) hiding behind the cupboard.
C. Multiple Choice Questions
1. The plural of "baby" is:
(a) babys(b) babyes(c) babies(d) babyies
2. Which word has the same singular and plural form?
(a) dog(b) fish(c) cat(d) ox
3. The plural of "wolf" is:
(a) wolfs(b) wolfes(c) wolves(d) wolvs
D. Identify the Rule Used
1. toy → toys (Rule: )
2. woman → women (Rule: )
3. fly → flies (Rule: )
4. half → halves (Rule: )
Think and Do -- Fun Activity
Plural Challenge: Write the plural of each word and sort it into the correct rule column.
Words: lady, key, thief, ox, sheep, brush, day, life
| Word | Plural | Rule Used |
|---|
| 1. | | |
| 2. | | |
| 3. | | |
| 4. | | |
| 5. | | |
| 6. | | |
| 7. | | |
| 8. | | |