1.4.1

Plurals

Test yourself

Plurals

The plural of a word is used when we have more than one of something. 'Dogs' is the plural of 'dog'. We use 'dogs' to show there is more than one 'dog'.

Illustrative background for Making words plural Illustrative background for Making words plural  ?? "content

Making words plural

  • You can normally make a word plural by adding an ‘s’ to a noun.
  • There are some exceptions to the rule of adding an ‘s’ to a noun to make it plural.
    • How to make a word plural usually depends on what letter the singular noun ends with.
Illustrative background for Spelling with soundIllustrative background for Spelling with sound ?? "content

Spelling with sound

  • Add ‘s’ to the end of the word to make it plural if making a word plural doesn’t change the number of syllables.
    • E.g. dog (1 syllable) → dogs (1 syllable).
    • E.g. oven (1 syllable) → ovens (1 syllable).
  • Add ‘es’ to the end of the word if making a word plural adds an extra syllable.
    • E.g. box (1 syllable) → boxes (2 syllables).
    • E.g. bus (1 syllable) → buses (2 syllables).
Illustrative background for Spelling using the final letterIllustrative background for Spelling using the final letter ?? "content

Spelling using the final letter

  • Every word that ends in the following letters creates an extra syllable when you make the word plural:
    • 'x' - 'box' → 'boxes'
    • 'ch' - 'church' → 'churches'
    • 'sh' - 'bush' → 'bushes'
    • 'ss' - 'success' → 'successes'
    • 's' - 'bus' → 'buses'
    • 'z' - 'fizz' → 'fizzes'
  • For all these, you would add ‘es’ rather than just ‘s’ to make the word plural.

Exceptions when Making Plurals

There are some words that don't change when you make them plural. There are other words that don't follow a rule when you make them plural.

Illustrative background for Words that don't changeIllustrative background for Words that don't change ?? "content

Words that don't change

  • There are some words that don’t change when you make them plural:
    • The plural of 'sheep' is 'sheep'.
    • The plural of 'deer' is 'deer'.
    • The plural of 'species' is 'species'.
    • The plural of 'series' is 'series'.
Illustrative background for Irregular pluralsIllustrative background for Irregular plurals ?? "content

Irregular plurals

  • There are a few irregular nouns that change form a lot when becoming plural:
    • The plural of 'child' is 'children'.
    • The plural of 'foot' is 'feet'.
    • The plural of 'mouse' is 'mice'.
    • The plural of 'man' is 'men'.
Illustrative background for Irregular plurals cont.Illustrative background for Irregular plurals cont. ?? "content

Irregular plurals cont.

  • Here are some more nouns that change form a lot when becoming plural:
    • The plural of 'woman' is 'women'.
    • The plural of 'tooth' is 'teeth'.
    • The plural of 'goose' is 'geese'.
    • The plural of 'person' is 'people'.

Jump to other topics

1Spelling

2Punctuation

3Grammar

Go student ad image

Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring

  • Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home

  • Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs

  • 30+ school subjects covered

Book a free trial lesson