Plurals

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 2

Singular and Plural

What do these terms mean?

Goal: to find out and to be able to make plurals 

Plural of:

1. shoe
2. shoes
3. shoe's
4. shoos

Plural of: baby

1. baby's
2. babies
3. babie's
4. babys

Plural of:

1. puppies
2. puppy's
3. puppys
4. puppen

Plural of:

1. tomatos
2. tomaten
3. tomato's
4. tomatoes

Plural of:

1. heroes
2. hero's
3. heros
4. held

Plural of: wife

1. wifes
2. ladies
3. wife's
4. wives

Plural of:

1. ganzen
2. goosen
3. gooses
4. geese

Plural of:

1. knife's
2. knifes
3. knives
4. kniven

Plural of:

1. child's
2. childs
3. kinderen
4. children

Explanation of regular plural nouns:

qRegular nouns: (-s)

* To make regular nouns plural, add ‑s to the end.

Examples:

cat – cats

dog - dogs

house – houses 

Regular nouns: (-es) "hissing sound"

* If the singular noun ends in ‑s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z, add ‑es to the end to make it plural.

Examples:

bus – buses

marsh – marshes

lunch – lunches

tax – taxes

blitz – blitzes

Singular nouns ending in -s or -z:  you double the -s or -z prior to adding the -es 

Examples:

fez – fezzes

gas –gasses

Letter -y:

* If a singular noun ends in ‑y and the letter before the -y is a consonant, change the ending to ‑ies to make the noun plural.

Examples:

baby babies

city – cities

puppy – puppies

puppy's / baby's - Is a genetive, not a plural

Example: A puppy's food / a baby's parents

Spelling (-y)

If the singular noun ends in -y and the letter before the -y is a vowel, simply add an -s to make it plural.

Examples:

ray – rays

play - plays

boy – boys

toy - toys

Letter -o:

If the singular noun ends in ‑o, preceded by a consonant, add ‑es to make it plural.

Examples:

hero - heroes

potato – potatoes

tomato – tomatoes

Exceptions:

photo – photos

piano – pianos

halo – halos

Plural Rules - Irregular Nouns

* Spelling changes

* No specific rules

* Memorize often!

* Use a dictionary if necessary

Spelling change: (-f /-fe)

* If the noun ends with ‑f or ‑fe, the -f is often changed to ‑ve before adding the -s to form the plural version.

Examples:

life - lives 

wife - wives

wolf - wolves

Examples:

child – children

goose – geese

man – men

woman – women

tooth – teeth

foot – feet

mouse – mice

person – people

ox - oxen

policeman - policemen

fish - fish 

spacecraft - spacecraft

louse – lice

Do you know how to make plurals?

Yes (you may carry on with homeowork)

No. Maybe. I am not sure. (please stay in this lessonup for a quick explanation)