 | > Other English exercises on the same topic: Plural [Change theme] |
| > Similar tests: - Plural forms - Countable or Uncountable? - Plural of words - Verb-singular or plural? - Plural - Plural of nouns - Plural: Nouns ending in -ff, -f, -fe - Irregular plurals | |
| > Double-click on words you don't understand |
Plural
Plurals
> As a general rule, the plural is formed by adding '-s' to the singular form of nouns.
shoe --> shoes | book --> books | river --> rivers
> Nouns ending in 's' or 'ss' will generally take the ending '-es' :
bus --> buses | kiss --> kisses
> Words ending in consonant + 'y' will generally take the ending '-ies' in place of the 'y':
party --> parties | supply --> supplies
> A few words have very irregular forms in the plural:
one man --> two men
one woman --> two women
one person --> two people
one foot --> two feet
one mouse (the animal) --> two mice
For the computer device, a few dictionaries accept "mouses" but "mice" is more popular.
one goose --> two geese
one tooth --> two teeth
one wife --> two wives
one child --> two children
one knife --> two knives
one thief --> two thieves
one dwarf --> two dwarves (or: dwarfs)
one potato --> two potatoes
one leaf --> two leaves
one life --> two lives
one loaf --> two loaves
one half --> two halves
> A small set of words do not change form in the plural:
one moose --> two moose
one sheep --> two sheep
one aircraft --> two aircraft
> Words of Greek or Latin origin which have retained their original endings will generally take the plural form associated with the language they are drawn from:
one alumnus --> two alumni
one syllabus --> two syllabi
one alumna --> two alumnae
one alga --> many algae
one criterion --> many criteria
one forum --> many fora (or : forums)
one thesis --> two theses
one hypothesis --> two hypotheses
one phenomenon --> two phenomena
one cactus --> two cacti (or : cactuses)
one diagnosis --> two diagnoses
one oasis --> two oases
one analysis --> two analyses
> A few nouns are invariable or collective, always indicating a plural meaning:
She gave me some information.
Michelle has a lot of clothes.
Twitter ShareEnglish exercise "Plural" created by webmaster with The test builder. [More lessons & exercises from webmaster]
Click here to see the current stats of this English test
Please log in to save your progress.End of the free exercise to learn English: Plural
A free English exercise to learn English.
Other English exercises on the same topic : Plural | All our lessons and exercises
