Plural Rules Part One By Brian Carruthers Plural

Plural Rules Part One By Brian Carruthers

Plural Rule 1 l Most words add ‘s’ to make the plural. l one apple two apples l desk → desks month → months l book → books train → trains l pen → pens name → names l shop → shops friend → friends l chair → chairs teacher →teachers

Try these… l pencil → l road → l flower → l girl → l plant → l window l door → → l cake → l banana → l shoe →

Plural Rule 2 l l l l Add ‘es’ to words ending in ‘ch’, ‘s’, ‘ss’, ‘x’ or ‘z’ to make the plural. one box many boxes wish → wishes beach → beaches cross → crosses waltz → waltzes bus → buses church → churches dish → dishes loss → losses fox → foxes bunch → bunches

Try these… l watch → l pitch → l wax → l class → l gas → l glass → l dress → l bush → l hutch → l quiz → quizzes

Plural Rule 3 When the letter before a ‘y’ is a consonant, change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’ before adding an ‘es’. l one baby two babies l city → cities l pony → ponies l reply → replies l berry → family → lady → berries families ladies

Try these… l daisy → l ferry → l army → l party → l fly → l diary → l cherry → l belly → l jelly → l filly →

Plural Rule 4 When words end in ‘ay’, ‘ey’, ‘iy’, ’oy’, and ‘uy’ add an ‘s’ to make the plural. l one donkey two donkeys l day → l key → l play → l days keys plays boy → delay → guy → boys delays guys

Try these l quay → l valley → l tray → l pulley → l toy → l monkey → l trolley → l buoy → l relay → l holiday →

Plural Rule 5 l When words end in ‘f’ or ‘fe’ change the ‘f’ or ‘fe’ to a ‘v’ before adding ‘es’. l one knife two knives l leaf → leaves l half → halves l wife → wives life → hoof → thief → lives hooves thieves

Try these l wolf → l elf → l loaf → l self → l calf → l shelf → l Exceptions → cliffs, chiefs, roofs, dwarfs and handkerchiefs.

Plural Rule 6 When a word ends in an ‘o’ and comes after a consonant, add ‘es’ to make the plural. l one tomato two tomatoes l cargo → cargoes mango → mangoes l echo → echoes hero → heroes l volcano →volcanoes torpedo→ torpedoes l

Try these l potato → l avocado → l mosquito → l domino → l buffalo → l dingo → l Exceptions → pianos, banjos, solos, radios and Eskimos.

Plural Rules 7 l Sometimes a word may completely change its form when a plural is made. l one child two children l person →people goose → geese l man → men woman → women l cactus →cacti fungus → fungi

Try these l tooth → l dice → l foot → l mouse → l nucleus → l criterion →

Plural Rule 8 Sometimes a word may stay the same in both its singular and plural form. l one fish many fish l l tuna → tuna l deer → deer l moose trout → trout sheep → sheep series → series

Try these l aircraft → l species → l offspring → l salmon → l bream → l perch →

Recap and Consolidation l The easiest way to learn how to spell a word is to practise! Practise! l Spelling rules are helpful but practice makes perfect. l Once you learn how to spell a word you will not forget how to spell it as long as you practise! Practice!

So what did you think of that?