Grammar: Lesson Three

Nouns: Plurals & Contractions

Definition

A SINGULAR noun names one person, place, thing, or idea.

A PLURAL noun names more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

Plural nouns

Most nouns in English are made into PLURAL NOUNS by adding an s to the singular form.

one snake two snakes

one car two cars

one tree two trees

Plural nouns

If the noun ends with an s, ch, sh, x, or z, an es is added to make the noun plural.

Make the following nouns plural:

box loss

dish quiz

church house

boxeslosses

dishes quizzes

churches houses

Plural nouns

Add s to nouns ending in a vowel and y.

key

toy

monkey

keys

toys

monkeys

Plural nouns

Change y to an i and add es to nouns ending in a consonant and y.

sky

hobby

penny

skies

hobbies

pennies

Plural nouns

What about nouns that end in a vowel?

Add an s to musical terms ending in o.

Add an s to nouns ending in a vowel and o.

radio - radios zoo - zoos

cello - cellos solo - solos

Plural nouns

Nouns ending in a consonant and o should be learned. If you are not sure, check the dictionary.

echo echoes

potato potatoes

tomato tomatoes

zero zeros, zeroes

hero heroes

Plural nouns

Some nouns have special PLURAL FORMS.

Plural nouns

Add s to many nouns ending in f, fe, or ff.

roof - roofs cliff - cliffs

But, some nouns drop the f or fe and add ves.

calf – calves life - lives

Some nouns have irregular plural forms!

child - children ox - oxen

Plural nouns

Some nouns have identical singular and plural forms

deer - deer scissors - scissors

For compound words, the most important word is usually made plural

son-in-law/sons-in-law board of health/boards of health

Add an ‘s to form the plural of letters or numbers used as a noun

A – A’s 100 – 100’s

Practice

Write the plural form of each noun.

1. teacup

A: teacups

2. goose

A: geese

3. Iroquois

A: Iroquois

4. class

A: classes

5. auto

A: autos

Practice

6. Department of Justice

A: Departments of Justice

7. daughter-in-law

A: daughters-in-law

8. leaf

A: leaves

9. hobby

A: hobbies

10. donkey

A: donkeys

Definition

A CONTRACTION is a word made by combining two words and leaving out one or more letters. An apostrophe shows where the letters have been left out.

Contractions

The speaker is happy about her presentation.

We can join the two words speaker and is to create a contraction.

SPEAKER’S

The speaker’s happy about her presentation.

Testing Your KnowledgeWhat is a plural noun?• more than one person, place, thing, or idea

How are most nouns in English made plural?

• add an s

What is a contraction?• A word made by combining two words and leaving out

one or more letters using an apostrophe