Singular and plural nouns
Make regular and irregular plurals: cats, boxes, cities, children, people.
In this lesson you will
- Add -s, -es and -ies correctly
- Learn the most common irregular plurals
- Use plural nouns with are and they
Learn
Most nouns add -s: book → books, car → cars, apple → apples.
Add -es after s, ss, sh, ch, x, z: bus → buses, glass → glasses, dish → dishes, watch → watches, box → boxes. Also many nouns ending in -o: potato → potatoes, tomato → tomatoes (but photo → photos, piano → pianos).
Consonant + y → -ies: city → cities, baby → babies. But vowel + y just adds -s: day → days, boy → boys, key → keys.
Most nouns ending in -f/-fe → -ves: knife → knives, wife → wives, leaf → leaves, shelf → shelves (but roof → roofs).
Irregular plurals to learn: man → men, woman → women, child → children, person → people, foot → feet, tooth → teeth, mouse → mice. Some don’t change: sheep, fish.
Pronunciation: -s sounds /s/ (cats), /z/ (dogs) or /ɪz/ (buses, watches).
| Rule | Examples |
|---|---|
| + s | book → books |
| s, sh, ch, x, z + es | box → boxes, watch → watches |
| consonant + y → ies | city → cities |
| f / fe → ves | knife → knives |
| irregular | child → children, person → people |
Examples
- There are three buses at the station.
- I have two brothers.
- London and Paris are big cities.
- Many people work here.
- Brush your teeth!
Vocabulary
child
a young boy or girl (plural: children)
person
a human (plural: people)
knife
you cut food with it (plural: knives)
box
a container (plural: boxes)
city
a big town (plural: cities)
tooth
one of the white things in your mouth (plural: teeth)
Practice
Plural of “watch”:
Speaking
Count things around you aloud: “one door, two windows, three chairs…”. Include at least one -es and one irregular plural.
Writing
Describe what’s in your kitchen or bag with plurals: “There are two cups, three knives…”.
Lesson quiz
Plural of “box”:
Review
Key points
- Most nouns: + s. After s/sh/ch/x/z: + es.
- Consonant + y → ies; vowel + y → s.
- f/fe → ves (knife → knives).
- Learn irregulars: men, women, children, people, feet, teeth, mice.
What you learned
- ✓ I can make regular plurals.
- ✓ I know common irregular plurals.
- ✓ I can say how many things there are.
Grammar reference: Plural nouns