Plurals
Singular Nouns
A noun is a word that names a person,
place, thing, or idea. A singular noun
names only one person, place, thing, or
idea.
 one boy
 one forest
 one apple
 one piece
Plural Nouns
A plural noun names two or more
people, places, things, or ideas.
 some boys
 six forests
 two apples
 many pieces
What do you notice about each of the
words in the plural list above?
Tell whether each of the
following nouns is singular
or plural.
breakfasts
squirrel
carpenters
feathers
strangers
galleys
guide
sweaters
guitar
heart
territories
kittens
lawyers
volcano
locket
mountains
wrist
partners
passengers
writer
pickle
plantation
scenes
children
Rule 1
To form the plural of
most nouns you
simply add an s to
the end of the
noun.
Singular
Plural
boy
boys
hair
hairs
trap
traps
girl
girls
door
doors
voice
voices
wood
woods
Rule 2
If the noun ends in
sh, ch, x, s, or z
add es to make it
plural.

Notice that these
words all end in a
“hissing” sound.
Singular
brush
lunch
fox
success
buzz
Plural
brushes
lunches
foxes
successes
buzzes
Rule 3
If a noun ends in a consonant plus y, the y
changes to i before es is added. Note: If the
noun ends in a vowel plus y, just add s.
What are the vowels?
a
e
i
o
u
All the other letters are consonants.
So
Play ends in a (vowel) and y therefore the
plural form is plays.
Monkey ends in e (vowel) and y therefore
the plural form is monkeys.
Likewise
Party ends in t (consonant) and y therefore
the plural form is parties.
Candy ends in d (consonant) and y therefore
the plural form is candies.
Singular
Plural
boy
boys
baby
babies
lily
lilies
family
families
pony
ponies
day
days
Rule 4
Most of the words
that end with f, ff,
or fe are made
plural by changing
the ending to -ves.
Singular
loaf
thief
wolf
life
half
knife
Plural
loaves
thieves
wolves
lives
halves
knives
There are exceptions
that must be
memorized or
looked up.
Singular
Plural
chief
chiefs
cliff
cliffs
proof
proofs
belief
beliefs
gulf
gulfs
roof
roofs
safe
safes
sniff
sniffs
chef
chefs
ref
refs
giraffe
giraffes
cafe
cafes
chief
chiefs
Rule 5
Words that end in o
are usually made
plural by adding s.
Singular
Plural
auto
autos
kangaroo
kangaroos
kilo
kilos
memo
memos
photo
photos
piano
pianos
pimento
pimentos
poncho
ponchos
pro
pros
solo
solos
soprano
sopranos
studio
studios
tattoo
tattoos
video
videos
tobacco
tobaccos
zoo
zoos
There are exceptions
that must be
memorized or
looked up.
.
Singular
Plural
echo
echoes
hero
heroes
potato
potatoes
tomato
tomatoes
torpedo
torpedoes
echo
echoes
veto
vetoes
embargo
embargoes
There are two helpful rules:
 All words that end in a vowel plus o
(ao, eo, io, oo, uo) have plurals that
end in just s.
 All musical terms ending in o have
plural ending in just s.
Rule 6
Some words are the
same in both the
singular and the
plural forms.
Singular
Plural
sheep
sheep
moose
moose
deer
deer
perch
perch
salmon
salmon
fish
fish
tuna
tuna
trout
trout
bison
bison
series
series
swine
swine
corps
corps
Rule 7
Some words form
their plural by
changing the whole
word. These are
called irregular
nouns. With
irregular nouns, you
have to memorize
the plural form.
Singular
Plural
mouse
mice
child
children
man
men
tooth
teeth
foot
feet
goose
geese
person
people
ox
oxen
louse
lice
woman
women
Activities



Singular or Plural
http://www.roythezebra.com/readinggames/singular-or-plural-1.html
Concentration with Irregular Plurals
http://www.manythings.org/wbg/irr_plurals
1-mw.html
Plural Nouns
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/lan
guage_arts/goforgold/content_builder/dsw
media/g2c8/nadia.htm
Activities




The Plural Girls
http://www.funbrain.com/plurals/index.html
Plural Spellings (Multiple Choice Quiz)
http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz1578
5812140f8.html
Singular Plural Nouns
http://www.softschools.com/language_arts/
games/singular_plural_nouns.jsp
Tic Tac Toe
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/plur
al/index_pre.html
Activities
Practice with Rules 1, 4, & 2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/spellits/s
wf/y5_activity1.swf
Practice with Rules 3 and 5
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/spellits/ac
tivities_y5/activity2.shtml
Practice




Singular or Plural Nouns
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/n
ouns/nouns-singularandplural2.pdf
Plural Nouns that Don't Follow the Rules
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/n
ouns/nouns-singularandplural3.pdf
Worksheet Generator
http://www.worksheetworks.com/english/pa
rtsofspeech/nouns/singular-plural.html
Regular Plural Nouns Worksheet
http://www.rhlschool.com/eng4n1.htm
Resources
– Worksheet Generator
http://www.worksheetworks.com/english/
partsofspeech/nouns/singular-plural.html
– Singular & Plural Nouns (List of rules)
http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/Grammar/Sin
gular%20&%20Plural%20Nouns.pdf
– Flashcards
http://www.kizclub.com/Phonics/word/plu
ral%20cards.pdf