Plural Forms Agenda Singular/Plural Forms Subject Verb Agreement: Exceptions Plural Forms and Apostrophe Possessive Case and Plural Basic Rules and Exceptions Common Mistakes Singular/Plural Form General form : adding s Words that end in -o, -ch, x, s or s-like sounds: adding es Words that end in y : change the y sound to an i sound and add s or es Words that end in -f or –fe : change the f sound to a v sound and add s or es Singular/Plural Form (cont.) Maintain their Latin or Greek form Irregular forms have to be memorized Example: Singular Plural circuit potato witch box potatoes circuits witches boxes baby knife nucleus phenomenon woman child babie s knives nuclei phenomena women children Subject Verb Agreement: Exceptions Nouns that appear to be plural in form can take a singular verb: The news is good. Gymnastics is fun to watch. Numerical expressions: usually singular, but can be plural if the individuals within a numerical group are acting individually: Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money. One-half of the faculty is retiring this summer Subject Verb Agreement: Exceptions Nouns seem to be singular in nature take a plural form: My pants are torn. Her scissors were stolen. Collective nouns: singular - think of them as groups plural - think of the individuals A dozen is probably not enough. A dozen are coming over this afternoon. Plural Forms and Apostrophe Apostrophes are used for two main reasons. 1. They are used to show possession Example: the engineer’s desk 2. to show that words have been contracted. Examples: He's = He is. It’s = It is With contractions, the apostrophe must be placed where the letters or numbers are missing. Possessive Plural Noun • Possessive plural noun ending with an s, add ‘ only For Example: Engineers’ desks are often full of papers. • Possessive plural noun not ending with an s, add ‘ s For Example:The women’s room is closed today. Basic Rules • Before placing the apostrophe decide whether the possessive noun should be singular or plural. Example: the engineer’s desk • If the noun should be plural make it plural first, and then make it possessive. Example: the engineers’ desks • Apostrophe -s (‘s) does not make a noun plural. For Example: Mr. Jones’s experiment Exception Option Just add the ‘ if all of the following is true – The noun is a name of a person or a thing – Has two or more syllables – Ends with an S sound For Example: Al Martinez’ son is an honor student Common Mistakes A sign to thank volunteers for sandbagging the river read: "You saved our buildings basement. Thank you, volunteer's !" Correct: "You saved our buildings’ basement. Thank you, volunteers !" More Information Reference: http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/plurals.htm http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/possessives.htm http://www.onthenet.com.au/~townsend http://www.meredith.edu/grammar http://www.luminet.net http://dl.ccc.cccd.edu/classes/internet/english105 http://babelnet.sbg.ac.at/themepark/castle/pluralform.htm Plural Forms: Quiz Please take the Plural Forms Quiz on WebCT now.