Modul 6

Singular and plurals:

Examples:

Singular	Plural
snake	snakes
window	windows
box	boxes
boy	boys
lorry	lorries
potato	potatoes
knife	knives

Spelling of plurals:

The plural form of most nouns is created simply by adding the letter "s".

• more than one snake = snakes
• more than one girl = girls
• more than one window = windows

Nouns that end in -ch, x, s, z or s-like sounds, however, will require an es for the plural:

• more than one witch = witches
• more than one box = boxes
• more than one gas = gases
• more than one bus = buses
• more than one kiss = kisses

Nouns that end in a vowel + y take the letter s:

• more than one boy = boys
• more than one way = ways

Nouns that end in a consonant + y drop the y and take ies:

• more tha one baby = babies
• more than one lorry = lorries

A lot of nouns that end in o take es in the plural:

• more than potato = potatoes
• more than one hero = heroes

o becomes oes
echo	echoes
embargo	embargoes
hero	heroes
potato	potatoes
tomato	tomatoes
torpedo	torpedoes
veto	vetoes

Some nouns ending in o break the above rule and get os in thhe plural form:

o becomes os
auto	autos
kangaroo	kangaroos
kilo	kilos
memo	memos
photo	photos
piano	pianos
pimento	pimentos
pro	pros
solo	solos
soprano	sopranos
studio	studios
tattoo	tattoos
video	videos
zoo	zoos

Other nouns ending in o get either os or oes i the plural forms:

o becomes os or oes
buffalo	buffalos/buffaloes
cargo	cargos/cargoes
halo	halos/haloes
mosquito	mosquitos/mosquitoes
motto	mottos/mottoes
no	nos/noes
tornado	tornados/tornadoes
volcano	volcanos/volcanoes
zero	zeros/zeroes

Plurals of nouns that end in f or fe usually change the f sound to a v sound and add s or -es.

• more than one knife = knives
• more than one leaf = leaves
• more than one hoof = hooves
• more than one life = lives
• more than one self = selves
• more than one elf = elves

2.  Irregular plurals:

There are several nouns that have irregular plural forms.

Singular	Plural
fish	fish
sheep	sheep
barracks	barracks
foot	feet
tooth	teeth
goose	geese
tooth	teeth
goose	geese
child	children
man	men
woman	women
person	people
mouse	mice

Plurals formed in this way are sometimes called irregular plurals or mutated (or mutating) plurals.

• more than one child = children
• more than one woman = women
• more than one man = men
• more than one person = people
• more than one goose = geese
• more than one mouse = mice
• more than one barracks = barracks
• more than one deer = deer

:
Nouns ending in -on becoming -a:
 

singular	plural
criterion	criteria
phenomenon	phenomena
automaton	automata

Nouns that are always singular:

A handful of nouns appear to be plural in form but take a singular verb:

• The news is bad.
• Gymnastics is fun to watch.
• Economics/mathematics/statistics is said to be difficult.

Some nouns never take the s of the plural and are always singular:

• your luggage / baggage is so heavy
• I'd like to buy new furniture for the house
• you can find more information in our website.