ESL Helpful Handouts
Page 1 of 5 Nouns A Review Of Plural Spelling Changes
To make the plural form of most nouns, add s to the end of the word. cup = cups
snake = snakes . ski = skis (I am taking my new skis pair of skis to the to the mountains next weekend.)
Add es to the end of a noun that ends in s, x, z, ch, sh. box = boxes
waltz = waltzes
match = matches
brush = brushes This page has been downloaded from http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. All Images: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.com. Image Acknowledgments: See page 5.
ESL Helpful Handouts
Page 2 of 5 Nouns A Review Of Plural Spelling Changes
When a noun ends in a consonant and y, drop the y and add ies. city = cities
Add s to some nouns that end in o . kangaroo = kangaroos
Add es to some words that end in o. tomato = tomatoes
Some words that end in o form the plural by adding either s or es to the end of the word. • Ato tornado = tornados tornado = tornadoes
This page has been downloaded from http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. All Images: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.com. Image Acknowledgments: See page 5.
ESL Helpful Handouts
Page 3 of 5 Nouns A Review Of Plural Spelling Changes
Some nouns that end in f or fe, drop f or fe and add ves.
Some nouns that end in f add s to form the plural.
loaf = loaves
belief = beliefs
thief = thieves
cliff = cliffs
Some nouns have irregular plural forms without s.
man - men woman - women child - children goose - geese mouse - mice
louse - lice ox - oxen
This page has been downloaded from http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. All Images: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.com. Image Acknowledgments: See page 5.
ESL Helpful Handouts
Page 4 of 5 Nouns A Review Of Plural Spelling Changes
Some nouns have the same singular and plural form.
one shrimp
two shrimp
one series
two series
Nouns borrowed from other languages such as Latin or Greek, have foreign plural forms. cactus = cacti datum = data index = indices medium = media stimulus = stimuli
This page has been downloaded from http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. All Images: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.com. Image Acknowledgments: See page 5.
ESL Helpful Handouts
Page 5 of 5 Nouns A Review Of Plural Spelling Changes
Write the plural noun in the blank. 1. (cup)
Over half the adults in the United states drink at least two _______________ of coffee a day.
2. (kangaroo)
_______________ are native to Australia.
3. (snake)
The first time that I ever saw rattle _______________ was in Florida.
4. (thief)
People who steal are called _______________.
5. (ski)
Mike is taking his new ________________ to Colorado next month.
6. (series)
A series is a group of similar things. Several groups are also called _______________.
7. (tornado)
Some storms, including _______________ , cannot be forecast accurately.
8. (belief)
Those politicians held different ________________ on the subject of the economy.
9. (box)
Ellen received four _______________ of chocolate on Valentine’s Day.
10. (cliff)
The bay is surrounded by towering _______________.
11. (child)
This project encourages school ______________ to study science.
12. (waltz)
I had hoped that she would save the last ________________ for me.
13. (louse)
You can buy a lotion at the pharmacy that treat head _______________.
14. (match)
________________ catch fire by friction.
15. (brush)
My grandfather liked to lather his beard with shaving _______________.
16. (city)
I have visited all of the capitol ________________ of the countries in the European Union.
17. (tomato)
Chop the _______________ into bite size pieces before you add them to the salad.
18. (loaf)
How many _______________ of bread did you buy?
19. (stimulus)
The optical illusions showed how the brain reacts to visual ________________.
20. (shrimp)
The jumbo shrimp platter comes with 12 fried _______________ and 2 vegetables.
Image Acknowledgements: Salvatore Vuono, Karen Shaw, Tony Dowson, Adam Hickmot, Suat Eman, Mark Truman, Felixo, Inc., Meiklejohn, Pixomar, George Stojkovie, Simon Howden, m-bartocsh. This page has been downloaded from http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. All Images: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.com. Image Acknowledgments: See page 5.