Singular and Plural Nouns
Notes On Generalizations
For Spelling/Forming
Plural Nouns.
Singular vs. Plural
A singular noun names one person,
place, thing, or idea.
• One cat, one store, one item
A plural noun names two or more
persons, places, things, or ideas.
• Two cats, four stores, fifteen items
Generalizations for forming plural
nouns:
1. For most singular nouns, add s.
Singular
teacher
street
pencil
book
elephant
Plural
teachers
streets
pencils
books
elephants
Generalizations for forming plural
nouns:
2. For nouns ending with s, x, z, sh, or ch,
add es.
Singular
gas
wax
waltz
dish
church
Plural
gases
waxes
waltzes
dishes
churches
Generalizations for forming plural
nouns:
3. For nouns ending with a consonant and y,
change the y to i and add es. For nouns ending
with a vowel and y, add s.
Singular
sky
army
penny
boy
alley
Plural
skies
armies
pennies
boys
alleys
Generalizations for forming plural
nouns:
4. For some nouns ending with f or fe, add s. For others,
change the f to v and add s or es. (You will need to
memorize the spellings for such words or look them up
in a dictionary to check.
Singular
belief
roof
loaf
life
knife
Plural
beliefs
roofs
loaves
lives
knives
Generalizations for forming plural
nouns:
These are a little more tricky . . .
5. For nouns that end with o, add s or es. (Again, you
would need to memorize the spellings of such words or
look them up in a dictionary to double-check.)
—One trick to remember: if it has to do with sound (“music”),
just add s.—Ex: cello. piano, radio
Singular
cello
piano
Plural
cellos
pianos
radio
zoo
potato / tomato
radios
zoos
potatoes / tomatoes
Generalizations for forming plural
nouns:
6. Some nouns have irregular plural forms. You
will have to memorize the spelling for irregular
plurals.
Singular
Plural
child
children
foot
feet
tooth
teeth
mouse
mice
man / woman
men / women
Generalizations for forming plural
nouns:
7. A few nouns have the same singular and
plural forms.
Singular
Plural
sheep
Chinese
moose
grapefruit
sheep
Chinese
moose
grapefruit
deer
salmon
deer
salmon
Generalizations for forming plural
nouns:
8. A few nouns have only plural forms.
Plural
scissors
jeans
savings
dues
Generalizations for forming plural
nouns:
9. A few nouns that end with s look plural
but are considered singular.
Singular
measles
news
economics
dues
Generalizations for forming plural
nouns:
Compound Nouns
10. For most compound nouns, make the most
important word plural.
•
For a compound noun written as one word,
make the last part plural.
•
For a compound noun written with hyphens
or as separate words, make the key word
plural.
Generalizations for forming plural
nouns:
One word
compound
nouns
Separate
words
Hyphenated
compound
nouns
Singular
Plural
billboard
cupful
campground
billboards
cupfuls
campgrounds
maid of honor
maids of honor
attorney-at-law
step-brother
Great-grandma
attorneys-at-law
step-brothers
Great-grandmas
Generalizations for forming plural
nouns:
11. Letters, numbers, symbols, and words used as
words are made plural by adding an apostrophe (‘)
and s.
Singular
Plural
#
A
25
and
#’s
A’s
25’s
and’s
&
ABC & 123
&’s
ABC’s & 123’s
Using a Dictionary:
Nouns that are made plural in other ways
besides just adding -s or -es can be looked up
in a dictionary to check the correct spelling.
Sample Dictionary entries:
dic-tion-ar-y (dik’ she ner’ e), n., pl. –aries, a book containing
words of a language, usually arranged alphabetically,
with their meanings, pronunciations, etymologies, etc.
en-try (en’ tre), n., pl. -tries. 1. entrance. 2. the act of
recording something in a book, register, etc. 3. the
item so recorded. 4. a person or thing entered in a
contest. 5. a word, phrase, etc. listed alphabetically
in a dictionary or reference book, usually with its
definition or explanation.
Multiple Choice
Which 2 words correctly complete
these sentences?
We bought a pair of _____ and some _____
at the yard sale.
A.
ski . . . dishes
B.
skis . . . dishs
C.
skies . . . dish
D.
skis . . . dishes
CORRECT!
We bought a pair of _skis_ and
some _dishes_ at the yard sale.
Multiple Choice
One of her _______ is studying _______ in
the wild.
A.
hobbys . . . monkeyes
B.
hobbyes . . . monkies
C.
hobbies . . . monkeys
D.
hobbys. . . monkees
CORRECT!
One of her _hobbies_ is
studying _monkeys_ in the wild.
Multiple Choice
A team of ______ pulled a wagon with three
_______ inside.
A.
ox . . . woman
B.
oxen . . . women
C.
oxes . . . women
D.
oxens . . . womans
CORRECT!
A team of _oxen_ pulled a wagon
with three _women_ inside.
Multiple Choice
Near the campsite they saw two _______
and several ________.
A.
deer . . . moose
B.
deers . . . moose
C.
deers . . . mooses
D.
deer . . . meese
CORRECT!
Near the campsite they saw two
_deer_ and several _moose_.
Newspaper Nouns
Use a newspaper or magazine article for this
activity:
•In the article, find at least 25 singular nouns.
Circle them with a colored pencil.
•On your own paper, make a T-chart. . . on the
left side write “Singular” and write “Plural” on
the right side of the T-chart.
•List the singular nouns you found in the article
on the left side of the T-chart, then write the
correct plural form of each on the right side.
Scoring Guide:
You should find at least 25 singular nouns.
Each of the plural nouns formed correctly from
these 25 singular nouns is worth 4 points, for a
total of 100.
Opportunity for BONUS points:
For every 5 additional singular nouns you identify,
list, and form the plural of correctly, you can earn one
bonus point.—up to a maximum of 5 bonus points (i.e. it
takes 25 additional singular nouns correctly made plural to
earn all 5 bonus points—but you can do it!!!)
Scoring Guide:
4 points each = total points 100
100% = 25 singular nouns identified and listed
with plural form spelled correctly.
96% = 24 singular nouns identified and listed
with plural form spelled correctly.
92% = 23 singular nouns identified and listed
with plural form spelled correctly.
Etc.
Grading:
A = 90-100%, B = 80-89%,
C = 70-79%, D = 60-69%,
F = Below 60%