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Here are exercises on the topic “plural nouns in English” with answers. You can see the rule in the article “Plural nouns in English”.

1. Write in plurals (put the following nouns into plural)
2. diary
3. sheep –
4. book –
5. cherry
6. fish –
7. baby –
8. match -
9. bus -
10. watch –

1. What are these irregular plurals (write exception nouns in the plural)
2. woman –
3. mouse-
4. tooth
5. foot –
6. man
7. child -
8. goose

1. Write in singular (put the following nouns into singular)
2. glasses –
3. potatoes –
4. forget-me-nots –
5. crises –
6. - stimuli
7. foxes –
8. brushes –
9. brothers-in-law –
10. phenomenal –
11. formulae –
12. data —

1. Find ten plural words (find 10 words in the plural)

1. Find five plural words in the text (find 5 plural nouns in the text)

Hi! My name's Bob. I’m 16 years old and I live in London. I'm tall and slim. I've got blond hair and blue eyes. These are my best friends, Tony and Simon.

Tony is 17 years old and he is a football player. He always watches football matches on TV.

Below are the answers:

1. Write in plurals
2. diary – diaries
3. sheep - sheep
4. book – books
5. cherry - cherries
6. fish - fish
7. baby – babies
8. key - keys
9. match – matches
10. bus – buses
11. watch – watches

1. What are these irregular plurals
2. woman - women
3. mouse – mice
4. tooth – teeth
5. foot – feet
6. man - men
7. child – children
8. goose – geese
9. ox-oxen

1. Write in singular
2. glasses – glass
3. potatoes – potato
4. forget-me-nots – forget-me-not
5. crises – crisis
6. – stimulus stimuli
7. foxes - fox
8. brushes – brush
9. brothers-in-law – brother-in-law
10. phenomena – phenomenon
11. formulae – formula
12. data - datum

1. Find ten plural words

1. Find five plural words in the text

Hi! My name's Bob. I’m 16 years old and I live in London. I'm tall and slim. I've got blond hair and blue eyes.

These are my best friends, Tony and Simon. Tony is 17 years old and he is a football player. He always watches football matches on TV.

Simon is 16 years old. He’s short and plump, but very funny. He likes listening to music and playing computer games.

Today we will learn everything about the formation of plurals in English. It would seem that it is enough to add -s to the end of the word, and the plural form of the noun is ready! But it's not that simple. Let's figure it out.

A noun is a part of speech that denotes an object (a chair), a person (a child), an animal (a cat), a substance (milk), a phenomenon (rain) or an abstract concept (happiness) - happiness).

It is important to remember that the plural or singular form of a noun is also important for agreeing the subject (who?/what?) with the predicate (what does?). With countable nouns we use the singular or plural form of the verb. And with uncountable nouns we use only the singular verb.

Kids are curious. - Children curious.
My kid is curious. - My child curious.
The milk is too hot for me. - Milk too hot for me.

So that the rules for forming the plural are not forgotten, but firmly settled in the head, they need to be practiced. To do this, sign up at.

Basic rules for forming plurals in English

There are several ways to form the plural of countable nouns in English:

1. The most common rule is to add the ending -s to a singular noun:

   an apple – apples (apple – apples)
   a pen – pens (pen – pens)
   a problem – problems (problem – problems)

   We pronounce the ending -s as /z/ after voiced consonants or vowels. For example: dogs /dɒɡz/ (dogs), hands /hændz/ (hands), keys /kiːz/ (keys).

   If a word ends in a voiceless consonant, then the ending -s is pronounced /s/. For example: lamps /læmps/ (lamp), myths /mɪθs/ (myths), skirts /skɜːts/ (skirts).

2. If a word ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch or -x, then the ending -es must be added to form the plural.

   a bus – buses (bus – buses)
   a dress – dresses (dress – dresses)
   a brush – brushes (brush – brushes)
   a watch – watches (hours – several hours)
   a box – boxes (box – boxes)

   In this case, we pronounce the ending -es as /iz/. For example: glasses /ɡlɑːsiz/ (glasses), boxes /bɒksiz/ (boxes).

   Let's listen to blogger Rachel's pronunciation:

3. If a word ends in -o, then the ending can be -es or -s. To choose the right one, it is better to consult a dictionary.

   Ending -es:

   a tomato – tomatoes (tomato – tomatoes)
   a hero – heroes (hero – heroes).

   Ending -s:

   a kilo – kilos (kilogram – kilograms)
   a photo – photos (photography – photographs)

4. If a word ends in -y preceded by a consonant, the plural ending is -ies.

   a cherry – cherries (cherry – cherries)
   a lady – ladies (lady – several ladies)
   a puppy – puppies (puppy – puppies)

   But if there is a vowel before -y, then you don’t need to change anything - just add the ending -s.

   a boy – boys (boy – boys)
   a day – days (day – days)
   a monkey – monkeys (monkey – monkeys)

5. There are a number of nouns that change their plural ending -f/-fe to -ves. Such exceptions include the following words:

   a calf – calves (calves of the legs – calves of the legs)
   an elf – elves (elf – elves)
   a shelf – shelves (shelf – shelves)
   a half – halves (half – halves)
   a knife – knives (knife – knives)
   a thief – thieves (thief – thieves)
   a leaf – leaves (leaf – leaves)
   a life – lives (life – lives)
   a loaf – loaves (loaf – loaves)
   a wife – wives (wife – wives)
   a wolf – wolves (wolf – wolves).

   And words such as a dwarf (dwarf, gnome), a hoof (hoof), a scarf (scarf), a wharf (pier) in the plural can have both the ending -fs and -ves.

6. There are a number of nouns whose plural form you just need to remember.

   a person – people (person – people)
   a man – men (man – men)
   a woman – women (woman – women)
   a child – children (child – children)
   a foot – feet (foot – feet)
   a tooth – teeth (tooth – teeth)
   a goose – geese (goose – geese)
   a mouse – mice (mouse – mice)
   a louse – lice (louse – lice)
   an ox – oxen (bull – bulls)

7. And another group is nouns whose singular and plural forms are the same. Here are some of them:

   a sheep – sheep (sheep – sheep)
   a swine – swine (pig – pigs)
   an aircraft – aircraft (aircraft – aircraft)
   a means – means (means – means)
   a crossroads – crossroads (crossroads – crossroads)
   a series – series (series – series)

Special cases of plural formation in English

1. Uncountable nouns in English

   What should we do if we still need to indicate the plural quantity of something uncountable? In this case, the noun itself must be preceded by words indicating its quantity:

   • Capacity, container:

     two cartons of juice - two packs of juice
     three bottles of wine - three bottles of wine
     four cups of tea - four cups of tea
     five glasses of water - five glasses of water
     six jars of jam - six jars of jam
     seven boxes of cereal - seven boxes of cereal
     eight cans of coke - eight cans of cola
     nine tins of tuna - nine cans of tuna
     ten tubes of toothpaste - ten tubes of toothpaste

   • Unit of measurement:

     two kilos of sugar - two kilograms of sugar
     three liters of petrol - three liters of gasoline
     four pounds of butter - four pounds of butter
     five meters of cable - five meters of cable

   • Unit (product, product):

     three loaves of bread - three slices of bread
     four bars of chocolate - four chocolate bars
     five slices of cheese - five pieces of cheese

   If you cannot find a unit of measurement for an uncountable noun, use the construction piece of.

   He gave me three pieces of advice. - He gave me three tips.

   Pay attention to nouns where the ending -s does not indicate plural, as these are uncountable nouns.

   gymnastics - gymnastics
   billiards - billiards
   measles - measles
   maths - mathematics

   Measles is an infectious disease. - Measles- infection.
   Gymnastics is my favorite sport. - Gymnastics- My favorite sport.

2. Nouns that are used only in the plural. Accordingly, these words are used with a plural verb.

   police - police
   cattle - cattle
   clothes - clothes
   stairs - stairs

   The police are looking for the robbers. - Police are looking for robbers.

   Also, nouns that are used only in the plural include objects consisting of two parts - paired. Most often these are tools, clothing and accessories.

   jeans - jeans
   trousers - trousers
   pajamas (BrE), pajamas (AmE) - pajamas
   tights - tights
   pliers - pliers
   pincers - tongs
   shears - secateurs

   To form the plural of paired nouns, use the phrase pairs of.

   She wants to try on a few more pairs of sunglasses before the purchase. - Before buying, she wants to try on more several pairs of sunglasses.
   You should have at least two pairs of binoculars for birdwatching. - You should have at least two pairs of binoculars for bird watching.

3. Collective nouns

   Collective nouns denote a group of people or things that are considered as a single unit. With such nouns we can use either a singular or plural verb.

   staff - staff
   a team - team
   a crew - crew
   a family - family
   a company - company

   Most often it doesn't matter which number you choose, but sometimes one of the forms is more appropriate for the context. It all depends on whether you are talking about the group as a whole (singular) or looking at each member of the group separately (plural).

   The team was playing well. - Team played well.
   The team were playing well. - Everyone's on the team played well.

   My family is very important to me. - My family very important to me.
   My family are going away next weekend. - All my family members leaving next weekend.

We hope you remember everything about forming the plural of nouns in English. And if you are in doubt about choosing the right form, contact. You will find more topics in our series of articles “” and “”.

We suggest you take our test to consolidate the material.

Test on the topic “Plural nouns in English”

The plural in English is formed according to a certain rule. When learning a language, beginners often have difficulties, since this rule has its own characteristics and exceptions.

In this article you will learn:

• rules for forming the plural of nouns
• words of exception to the rule
• words that do not change according to numbers

The rule for forming the plural of nouns in English

In English, plurals are formed by adding the ending -s to a word:

cat - cat s
cat - cats

cup - cup s
cup - cups

book-book s
book - books

phone - phone s
telephone - telephones

pen - pen s
pen - pens

It would seem that everything is extremely simple. However, as with many English rules, there are exceptions.

In some cases, instead of -s we need to add an ending -es. Let's look at which ones:

1. If the word ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z

kiss-kiss es
kiss - kisses

church - church es
church - churches

bus - bus es
bus - buses

dish - dish es
dish - dishes

tax - tax es
tax - taxes

2. If the word ends with -O

potato - potato es
potato - potatoes

zero - zero es
zero - zeros

hero - hero es
hero - heroes

But there are exception words, to which, despite the fact that they end in O, we add the ending -s. You just need to remember these words:

photo - photo s
photography - photographs

video-video s
video - several videos

piano - piano s
piano - several pianos

kilo - kilo s
kilogram - kilograms

3. If the word ends with -y, then we change y on i and add the ending -es

secretary - secretary ies
secretary - secretaries

factory - factor ies
factory - factories

theory - theory es
theory - theories

reply-reply es
answer - answers

However, if the word ends with -y and we pronounce the ending like [th], then we do not change it in any way, but simply add -s:

boy - boy s
boy - boys

toy-toy s
toy - toys

way - way s
way - ways

4. If the word ends with -fe, That f change to v and add -es

knife - kni ves
knife - knives

wife-wi ves
wife - wives

life-li ves
life - life

We looked at the basic rules that allow us to make two or more from one item. But in the English language there are exception words that do not follow these rules.

Plural elimination words in English

There are words in the English language whose plural forms are not formed according to the rules. Such words can be divided into two groups:

1. Words that change their form regardless of the rules

The formation of the plural form of these words does not lend itself to any logic; it just needs to be remembered.

man-men
man - men

person - people
person people

woman - women
woman's woman

mouse - mice
mouse - mice

foot - feet
leg legs

child - children
children

tooth - teeth
tooth teeth

2. Words that don't change at all

There is no need to add an ending to these words or change them, regardless of whether we are talking about one subject or several.

fish - fish
fish - fish

fruit - fruit
fruit - fruit

deer - deer
deer - deer

sheep - sheep
sheep - sheep

aircraft - aircraft
airplane - airplanes

means - means
way - ways

trout - trout
trout - trout

Words that do not vary by number in English

Just like in the Russian language, in English there are words whose number cannot be changed at all (glasses, trousers, dishes, honey, etc.). Such words can only be singular or plural.

1. Words that are used only in the singular

We cannot put such words in the plural, even if there are several objects. Remember, we also have such words in Russian: video, piano, flamingo, etc. Agree, we cannot say: “There were three pianos in the classroom.” We say: “There were three pianos in the classroom,” although we mean several objects.

advice - advice
furniture - furniture
information - information
money - money
friendship - friendship
love - love
news - news

2. Words that are used only in the plural

We cannot put such words in the singular. For example, we say: “Give me a pair of scissors,” although we mean one object. We cannot say, “Give me a scissor.”

scissors - scissors
trousers - trousers
glasses—glasses
goods - goods, goods
clothes - clothes
stairs - stairs
arms - weapon

So, we looked at how to correctly change words when we talk about two or more subjects. Now let's practice doing this.

Do a workout exercise

Put the following words into plural form:

Tomato, box, sheep, dictionary, flower, day, video, child, plate, fruit, class, key, foot, window, country, brush, photo, fish, woman, party.

Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

Exercise 1

Put the given nouns into the plural form.

Computer (computer), lion (lion), glove (glove), lady (lady), bus (bus), knife (knife), potato (potato), desk (desk), boat (boat), child (child ), boy (boy), sheep (sheep), leg (part of the leg from foot to thigh), watch (watch), tooth (tooth), flower (flower), play (game), umbrella (umbrella), foot (foot ), phone (telephone), person (person), armchair (chair), tomato (tomato), theater (theater), wolf (wolf), ox (bull), woman (woman), subway (subway, subway), deer (deer), elephant (elephant), monkey (monkey), fox (fox), family (family), goose (goose), butterfly (butterfly), tram (tram), daddy (uncle), man (man).

Answers:

Computers, lions, gloves, ladies, buses, knives, potatoes, desks, boats, children feet, boys, sheep, legs, watches, teeth, flowers, plays, umbrellas, phones, people, armchairs, tomatoes, theaters, wolves, oxen, women, subways, deer, elephants, monkeys, foxes, families, geese, butterflies, trams, daddies, men.

Exercise 2

Fill in the missing predicates and demonstrative pronouns in the appropriate number.

1. Marta bought … red trousers and … blue jeans in Germany. – Martha bought these red trousers and those blue jeans in Germany.
2. Her scissors... new and very sharp. – Her scissors are new and very sharp.
3. Mathematics is a very important and interesting subject. – Mathematics is a very important and interesting subject.
4. John`s binoculars…the best. – John’s binoculars are the best.
5. The people in the aula ... our guests. – The people in the assembly hall are our guests.
6. Mary chose … brown tights and new white jeans. – Mary chose those brown tights and new white jeans.
7. … stockings hang together with … shorts. – These stockings (socks, leg warmers) match those shorts.
8. Our Granny`s spectacles (= glasses) … on the kitchen-table. – Our grandmother’s glasses are on the kitchen table.
9. The police … looking for a fair-haired European with a black Rottweiler. - The police are looking for (= the police are looking for) a fair-haired man of European appearance with a black Rottweiler.
10. Drafts...his favorite game and billiards...hers. – Checkers is his favorite game, and billiard is hers (favorite game).

Answers:

1. These, those. 2.Are. 3.Is. 4.Are. 5.Are. 6. Those. 7. These, those. 8.Are. 9.Are. 10. Are, are.

Exercise 3

Change the singular in the following sentences to plural.

1. That was a cowboy. - It was a cowboy.
2. Mary found a flight to Delhi. Mary found a flight to Delhi.
3. Robert made this bookshelf himself. – Robert made this bookshelf himself.
4. The window and the door are closed. – The window and door are locked (closed).
5. There is a mouse in the kitchen. - There's a mouse in the kitchen.
6. It is a white goose. - This is a white goose.
7. That was not a sheep. That was a donkey. - It wasn't a sheep. It was a donkey.
8. It is not an interesting story. - This is not an interesting story.
9. Is that Eric`s knife? – Is this Eric’s knife?
10. There was a beautiful bright star in the sky. – There was a beautiful bright star in the sky.
11. It was not the selected song. – It was not the chosen song.
12. Is that a studious pupil? – Is this a diligent student?

Answers:

1. Those were cowboys.
2. Mary found flights to Delhi.
3. Robert made these booksshelves himself.
4. The windows and the doors are closed.
5. There are mice in the kitchen.
6. There are geese.
7. Those were not sheep. Those were donkeys.
8. These are not interesting stories.
9. Are those Eric`s knives?
10. There were beautiful bright stars in the sky.
11. There were not selected songs.
12. Are those studious pupils?

Exercise 4

Rearrange the phrases by putting the nouns in the plural form.

A fallen leave, the stupid student, the German guest, a difficult subject, the broken window, the good marks, an interesting example (interesting example), a modern plane (modern plane), the old coin (old coin), a beautiful glass (beautiful glass), the driving license (driver's license), a fresh tomato (fresh tomato), a white ceiling ( white ceiling), the biggest river, an interesting proposal, a standing person, the important addition, a tasty supper, the endless day day), the recorded talk, an angry goose, a bitter drink, the new teapot.

Answers:

Fallen leaves, the stupid students, the German guests, difficult subjects, the broken windows, the good marks, interesting examples, modern planes, the old coins, beautiful glasses, the driving licenses, fresh tomatoes, white ceilings, the biggest rivers, interesting proposals, standing people, the important additions, tasty suppers, the endless days, the recorded talks, angry geese, bitter drinks, the new teapots.

A dog, a ball, a desk, a horse, a fact, a nose, a lip, a mother, a father, a brother, a pen, a pencil, a flower, a kid, a pupil, a lion, an elephant , an apple.

Answers: dogs, desks, horses, facts, noses, lips, mothers, fathers, brothers, pens, pencils, flowers, kids, pupils, lions, elephants, apples.

NB! Indefinite articles a/an are used only in the singular!

Exercise 2. Form the plural of nouns.

A class, a box, a bus, a match, a bush, a wish, a loss, a tomato, a princess, a boss, an ostrich, a brush, a witch, a fox, a dish, a hero, an address ,a glass.

Answers: classes, boxes, buses, matches, bushes, wishes, losses, tomatoes, princesses, bosses, ostriches, brushes, withes, foxes, dishes, heroes, addresses, glasses.

Exercise 3. Form the plural of nouns.

A cry, a lady, a baby, a puppy, a strawberry, a cherry, a reply, a party, a spy, the sky, a city, a country, a lorry, a doggy, a poppy, a story, an enemy , a family.

Answers: cries, ladies, babies, puppies, strawberries, cherries, replies, parties, spies, skies, cities, coutries, lorries, doggies, poppies, stories, enemies, families.

Exercise 4. Form the plural of nouns.

A loaf, a wife, a wolf, a calf, a safe, a shelf, an elf, a roof, a scarf, a thief.

Answers: loaves, wolves, calves, halves, safes, shelves, elves, roofs, scarves (scarfs), thieves.

Exercise 5. Form the plural of nouns.

A baby, a plant, a lemon, a peach, a banana, a brush, a star, a mountain, a tree, a shilling, a king, the waiter, the queen, a man, a woman, the woman, an eye , a shelf, a box, the city, a boy, a goose, the watch, a mouse, a dress, a toy, the sheep, a tooth, a child, the ox, a deer, the life, a tomato, a secretary, a crowd, the airport, a theater, the tornado, a shop, the tragedy.

Answers: babies, plants, lemons, peaches, bananas, brushes, stars, mountains, trees, shillings, kings, the waiters, the queens, men, the men, women, the women, eyes, shelves, boxes, the cities, boys, geese , the watches, mice, dresses, toys, the sheep, teeth, children, the oxen, deer, the lives, tomatoes, secretaries, crowds, airports, theaters, tornadoes, shops, tragedies.

NB! Pay attention to the articles: the indefinite article a/an is not used in the plural, the definite article the is used.

Exercise 5. Form the plural of nouns and write their forms in the correct column.

A dolphin, a fly, a dress, a shoe, a diary, a cake, a strawberry, a sandwich, a toy, a fox, a garden, a ray, a piano, an enemy, a branch, a wish, a coin , an ability.

Answers: -s: dolphins, shoes, cakes, toys, gardens, rays, pianos, coins. -es: dresses, sandwiches, foxes, branches, wishes. -ies: flies, diaries, strawberries, enemies, abilities.

Exercise 6. Read the story. Write down the nouns in the plural.

Little Bunny

I am a little bunny. My name is Usagi. I live in a wood. My house is in the hollow tree.

In spring, I like to pick dandalions. These flowers are very nice, sweet and tasty. In summer I listen to the birds and insects. In autumn I watch bright leaves on the trees. In winter I dream about spring.

Answers: dandalions, flowers, birds, insects, leaves, trees.

Exercise 7. Open the brackets using plural nouns.

1. I have two little (a sister). They are (a twin). They have a lot of (a pencil) and (an album). They like to draw (a house, a tree, a puppy, a kitten, a duck, a chiken and a doll). My sisters cannot draw (a car, a bus, a ship and an elephant). I help them.
2. My (a grandmother, a grandfather, an aunt, an uncle and a cousin) live in a village. They have a nice farm. There are a lot of (a cow, a calf, a horse, a pig and a piglet) there. I like to play with (a rabbit). They are very funny.
3. My best friend has three elder (a brother). They are (a student). They have a lot of (an interest). They like to play computer (a game), to see horror (a film), and to collect (a stamp) and toy (a car). I think their (a hobby) are very interesting.

Answers: 1. Sisters, twins, pencils, albums, houses, trees, puppies, kittens, ducks, chickens, dolls, cars, buses, trams, ships, elephants.

2. Grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, cows, calves, horses, pigs, piglets, rabbits.

3. Brothers, students, interests, games, films, stamps, cars, hobbies.

Exercise 8. Write singular nouns.

Children, shelves, feet, desks, classes, buses, men, pencils, women, babies, tomatoes, potatoes, dresses, mice, teeth, sheep, puppies, fish, foxes, rabbits, boxes, geese, deer, bosses, salmon, animals.

Answers: chils, shelf, foot, calss, bus, man, pencil, woman, baby, tomato, potato, dress, mouse, tooth, sheep, puppy, fish, fox, rabbit, box, goose, deer, boss, salmon, animal.

Exercise 9. Form the plural of nouns.

A post office, a postman, a postwoman, a kindergarten, a woodpecker, a dinner party, a gadfly, a dragonfly, a toothbrush, a workwoman, a father-in-law, a girfriend.

Answers: post offices, postmen, postwomen, kindergartens, woodpeckers, dinner parties, gadflies, dragonflies, toothbrushes, workwomen, fathers-in-law, girlfriends.

Exercise 10. Write singular nouns.

Sportsmen, sportswomen, gooseberries, strawberries, wood spirits, wolf-dogs, pencil boxes, classmates, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, blackboards.

Answers: sportsman, sportswoman, gooseberry, strawberry, wood spirit, wolf-dog, pencil box, classmate, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, blackboard.

WELL DONE!

Literature:

1. Pavlichenko O.M. English language. Grammar workshop. Level II. - 2nd ed., rev. and additional - X.: Ranok, 2012. - 304 p.
2. Golitsynsky Yu.B. Grammar: Collection of exercises. - 5th ed., - St. Petersburg: KARO, 2005. - 544 p. - (English for schoolchildren).

Pluralizing nouns in English
English female names