To make a subject plural there are some basic rules to follow.
1. For most nouns just add an “s”.
1 computer – 2 computers
1 cake – 2 cakes
1 book – 2 books
1 apple – 2 apples
1 shop – 2 shops
1 table – 2 tables
2. Irregular plurals
man – men
woman – women
foot – feet
tooth – teeth
mouse – mice
person – people
child – children
man & men
That man is dancing.
How many men were at the rugby game?
woman & women
A woman is teaching her children.
The women in the Rio de Janeiro carnival wear colourful headdresses.
tooth – teeth
You have a sweet tooth.
She has lovely white clean teeth.
foot – feet
My foot hurts.
Your feet are big.
mouse – mice
A little mouse appeared in the garden.
All mice love cheese.
person – people
That person is the company boss.
These people are walking in the streets.
child – children
The child takes an online math’s class.
The school has over 200 children.
3. Words that don’t change.
shrimp – shrimp
aircraft – aircraft
sheep – sheep
deer – deer
goldfish – goldfish
fish – fish
series – series
species – species
trout – trout
fish – fish
I ate a fresh fish yesterday.
The fisherman caught many fish.
series – series
I love watching a TV series called “House”.
I studied a series of lectures on marketing.
4. For nouns ending in z, x, ch, sh, s, add ”es”.
whizz – whizzes
box – boxes
beach – beaches
brush – brushes
bus – buses
The person in the interview is a whizz kid.
The train whizzes past the station.
A bus is the cheapest way to travel across town.
The red buses of London are so much fun.
5. For nouns ending in F or FE.
Remove F/FE and add “ves”.
leaf – leaves
wife – wives
life – lives
knife – knives
leaf – leaves
A single leaf floats to the ground.
I can see beautiful red and oranges leaves on the path.
life – lives
Live life to the full.
They say a cat has nine lives.
6. If the word ends in a consonant and a “y”. Remove the “y” and add “IES”.
There are 21 consonants: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, and Z.
city – cities
baby – babies
story – stories
party – parties
country – countries
family – families
dairy – dairies
library – libraries
dictionary – dictionaries
city – cities
What is your favourite city?
How many cities are there in the USA?
country – countries
What country do you live in?
There are 195 countries in the world.
7. If the words ends in a consonant
and an “o” add ”es”.
volcano – volcanoes
hero – heroes
tomato – tomatoes
potato – potatoes
Batman is a super hero.
8. If the word ends in a vowel and an “o” add ”s”.
radio = radios
stereo = stereos
video = videos
zoo = zoos
I listen to the radio when doing the house chores.
Youtube internet videos are a great resource of information.
