Mastering English plural forms and exceptions

Mastering English plural forms and exceptions

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to identify and use plural forms in English, including the exceptions.

Introduce the learning objective and explain why it is important to learn plural forms in English.

What do you already know about plural forms in English?

Regular Plurals

Most English nouns form their plurals by adding -s or -es. Ex: cat - cats, box - boxes.

Provide examples and ask students to come up with some of their own. Encourage them to think of exceptions to this rule.

Plurals ending in -y

Nouns ending in -y preceded by a consonant change the -y to -ies. Ex: city - cities.

Ask students to identify other nouns that follow this rule. Provide examples for them to practice.

Plurals ending in -o

Most nouns ending in -o form their plurals by adding -es. Ex: potato - potatoes.

Provide examples and ask students to come up with some of their own. Explain that some nouns ending in -o do not follow this rule.

Irregular Plurals

Some nouns have irregular plural forms. Ex: child - children, mouse - mice.

Provide a list of common irregular plural forms and ask students to come up with some more. Practice with exercises.

Plurals of compound nouns

The plural of most compound nouns is formed by adding -s to the main word. Ex: cupful - cupfuls, sister-in-law - sisters-in-law.

Explain what a compound noun is and provide examples for students to practice.

Plurals of foreign words

Some foreign words retain their original plural forms. Ex: crisis - crises, phenomenon - phenomena.

Provide a list of common foreign words and their plural forms. Discuss the origins of these words and why they are exceptions.

Plurals ending in -f or -fe

Most nouns ending in -f or -fe change the -f or -fe to -ves. Ex: knife - knives, half - halves.

Provide examples and ask students to come up with some of their own. Practice with exercises.

Plurals ending in -us

Most nouns ending in -us form their plurals by changing -us to -i. Ex: cactus - cacti, focus - foci.

Provide examples and ask students to come up with some of their own. Explain that some nouns ending in -us do not follow this rule.

Exceptions to the rules

Some nouns have irregular plural forms that do not follow any rules. Ex: person - people, tooth - teeth.

Provide a list of common exceptions and ask students to come up with some more. Practice with exercises.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.