English Lesson 5

Plural Nouns

 

Remember these PLURAL RULES.

Rule 1 for Plurals  To form the plural of most nouns you simply add an s to the end of the noun.

 

Rule 2 for Plurals  If the noun ends in sh, ch, x, s, or z add es to make it plural.

 

Rule 3 for Plurals  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.

In this lesson you will learn a new rule.

Rule 4 for Plurals  Most of the words that end with f, ff, or fe are made plural by changing the ending to -ves.
Singular Plural
loaf loaves
thief thieves

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

A few nouns ending in f or ff have two plural forms.

Singular Plural
dwarf dwarfs OR dwarves
hoof hoofs OR hooves
scarf scarfs OR scarves
wharf wharfs OR wharves
staff staffs OR staves

Practice - Write the plural form in the blank after each word.

  1. calf
  2. life
  3. half
  4. knife
  5. wife
  6. roof
  7. sniff
  8. cliff
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
  1. hoof
  2. elf
  3. leaf
  4. shelf
  5. chef
  6. ref
  7. self
  8. giraffe
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________

Practice - Review of Rules 1-4

There are 10 picture pairs covering the first 4 plural rules. Fill in either the singular or plural form for each pair.

  Singular Plural
17.

cat

_______________
18.

match

_______________

19.

_______________

lilies
20.
_______________
cherries
21.
cliff
_______________
22.

_______________

newspapers
23.

key

_______________
24.
_______________
loaves
25.
brush
_______________
26.

dwarf
_______________

 
  1. Choose the sentence that is written correctly.

    a)  Everything from silk kimonos to chop sticks to packages of hand laundry littered the shelves and chairs.
    b)  If leafs  in a green forest far from New York had fallen at midnight through the darkness into a thicket, it might have sounded like that.
    c)  He was staring at old ladys wearing straw hats.
    d)  Mario walked down to the end of several alleies.
     
  2. Choose the sentence that is NOT written correctly.

    a)  It was a jumble of Chinese odds and ends.
    b)  He was afraid that if he moved, he would be buried under an avalanche of Chinese novelties.
    c)  In a glass case right in front of him were a row of Chinese goddesses, carved in ivory.
    d)  He was thing about storys he had heard.
     

-----------Key-----------

  1. calves
  2. lives
  3. halves
  4. knives
  5. wives
  6. roofs
  7. sniffs
  8. cliffs
  9. hoofs OR hooves
  10. elves
  11. leaves
  12. shelves
  13. chefs
  14. refs
  15. selves
  16. giraffes
  17. cats
  18. matches
  19. lily
  20. cherry
  21. cliffs
  22. newspaper
  23. keys
  24. loaf
  25. brushes
  26. dwarfs OR dwarves