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Spelling – plurals

Average: 3.6 (10 votes)

There are different ways that the plurals of nouns are formed in English.

Add 's' (pronounced /s/ as in 'so')
shop - shops 
cat – cats
book – books

Add 's' (pronounced /z/ as in zoo)
girl – girls
boy – boys
door – doors

Add 'es' (pronounced /iz/)
race – races
box – boxes
dish – dishes

Add 's' or 'es' to words ending in 'o'
piano – pianos
photo – photos
radio – radios
tomato – tomatoes
hero – heroes
potato – potatoes

Change the final 'f' or 'fe' to 'ves'
wife – wives
knife – knives
shelf – shelves

Add 's' if a word ends in a vowel letters plus 'y'
key – keys
day – days
say – says

If a noun ends in a consonant + 'y' the 'y' is removed and 'ies' added
baby – babies
lady – ladies
city – cities

-en is used for only a few words and is an old English plural form
child – children
man – men
woman – women

the plural form of the following is formed in this way
father-in-law – fathers-in-law
cupful – cupfuls
passer-by – passers-by

Lesson by Tristan, English teacher at EC Malta English school

Now choose the correct plural form of the following:

  • 1) Which is correct?




  • 2) Which is correct?




  • 3) Which is correct?




  • 4) Which is correct?




  • 5) Which is correct?




  • 6) Which is correct?




  • 7) Which is correct?




  • 8) Which is correct?



  • 9) Which is correct?




  • 10) Which is correct?




  • 11) Which is correct?




  • 12) Which is correct?