Make Plurals Flashcards
(12 cards)
THE BASICS
To make regular nouns plural, add –s
cat – cats
house – houses
If the singular noun ends in –s, –ss, –sh,
–ch, –x, or –z, you usually add -es
iris – irises
marsh – marshes
lunch – lunches
tax – taxes
blitz – blitzes
For most nouns that end with –f or
–fe, you add an –s to form the
plural version.
roof – roofs
proof - proofs
belief – beliefs
sheriff -sheriffs
chef – chefs
giraffe-giraffes
chief – chiefs
Exceptions:
Half – halves
Shelf -shelves
Leaf – leaves
Knife -knives
Thief – thieves
Life - lives
Loaf – loaves
Wife - wives
Wolf – wolves
Self - selves
Some nouns that end in “f” have plurals that
can be spelled either way.
Calf – Calfs/Calves
Hoof – Hoofs/Hooves
Wharf – wharfs/wharves
If the singular noun ends in –o, you usually add –es.
potato – potatoes
tomato – tomatoes
Exceptions:
photo – photos
piano – pianos
halo – halos
If the singular noun ends in –us, the plural ending is
frequently –i.
cactus – cacti
focus – foci
If the singular noun ends in –is, the plural ending is –es.
analysis – analyses
ellipsis – ellipses
If the singular noun ends in –on, the plural ending is
usually –a.
phenomenon – phenomena
criterion – criteria
Some nouns don’t change at all when they’re pluralized:
sheep – sheep
deer – deer
is/are
series – series
species – species
There are nouns that are always plural, we use ARE:
Scissors ARE, glasses ARE, binoculars ARE, trousers ARE, headphones ARE, pyjamas ARE, jeans ARE, shorts ARE, tweezers ARE (pinces).
If you say A PAIR OF ……JEANS, we use IS.
IRREGULAR NOUNS
mouse – mice
goose – geese
child – children
man – men
woman – women
tooth – teeth
foot – feet
person – people
Boxes
Lunches
Thieves
Hoofs/Hooves
Strawberries
Mangoes
Mosquitoes
Toys
Syllabi
Fungi
Crises
Criteria
Series
Teeth
We think of a sum of money, a period of time, a distance as one thing. So, we use a singular verb.
Twenty thousand dollars WAS stolen in the robbery.
Three years IS a long time to be without a job.
Six miles IS a long way to walk every day.
RULE: ONE PERSON, TWO PEOPLE
In the legal world, persons is used regularly.
E.g. There should not be more than 6 persons per elevator.
E.g. Any person or persons vandalizing courthouse property will be fined.
When you refer to the people of a single ethnic
group or nationality, you can use PEOPLES.
E.g. “The Peoples of the World” is a book that captures the diversity of traditions and ways of life of remote ethnic groups around the globe.
Susan was wearing a nice black jeans today.
Matt and Jean are wonderful persons.
Ten dollars are not enough. I need more.
I´m going to buy a new pyjama.
There was a police directing traffic.
This scissors isn´t very sharp.
The capacity of this lift is 6 persons.
The people is friendly in Brazil.
Ninety degrees are too hot for me!
… - /some/a pair of nice black jeans
… wonderful people
Ten dollars is not enough…
… - /some /a pair of new pyjamas
There were police / was a policeman/woman
These scissors aren´t / This pair of scissors isn´t…
OK
People are friendly in Brazil
Ninety degrees is too hot for me.
Compound Nouns - Plural
check-in = check-ins
build-up = build-ups
take-out = take-outs
water-bottle = water-bottles
brother-in-law = brothers-in-law
passer-by = passers-by (transeuntes)
hanger-on = hangers-on (parasite)
