Plurals
English Language: KS3, topic 1.4.1
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'.
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.
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).
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.
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'.
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'.
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'.
Test yourself on Plurals
What are the two methods you can use for working out the spelling of plurals?
Which of these are the correct spellings of words in plural form?
Which of these are the correct spellings of words in plural form?
What are the plurals of these words?
What is the plural of 'goose'?