Practice Activities: Nouns | Introduction to Writing

Plural Nouns

Here are some additional exercises to practice using nouns:

Regular Plural Nouns

Look at each plural word in the table below. Write the singular version of the word and explain which rule the plural has used in its formation. For example:

vultures is the plural of vulture. Despite vultures ending in –es, you simply add an –s to form the plural, as the e is a part of the singular word.
fries is the plural of fry. To form the plural, the y was changed to an i, and we added –es.

trees	sopranos	watches
tomatoes	waltzes	wrists
reefs	leaves	flies
cafes	caves	boys

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Irregular Plural Nouns

Look at each plural word in the table below. Write the singular version of the word and explain which rule the plural has used in its formation. For example:

oxen is the plural of ox. This is an –en noun. To form the plural, an -en was added.
stimuli is the plural of stimulus. The singular ends with a -us, so the plural ends with an -i.

children	moose	teeth
squid	men	lice
memoranda	hypotheses	phenomena
parentheses	emphases	nuclei
foci	vertebrae	appendices

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Regular and Irregular Plural Nouns

Look at each word in the table below. Identify if the words is singular or plural, then write the other version of the word and explain which rule the plural has used in its formation. For example:

stimuli is the plural of stimulus. The singular ends with a -us, so the plural ends with an -i.
ox is the singular of oxen. This is an –en noun. To form the plural, an -en was added.

chiefs	toys	quiz
bacterium	crisis	criteria
octopus	larvae	indices
wolves	sheep	woman

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Count v. Non-Count Nouns

Many? Much? Fewer? Less?

Read the following sentences. Choose the correct words to complete each sentence.

There was (many / much) food at the event. There were (less / fewer) soups than salads and even (less / fewer) desserts.
As a geologist, Liam spends a lot of time around (rock / rocks) and (dirt / dirts).
Arturo had too much (water / drinks) before his workout.

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Compound Nouns

Read the following sentence. Are the compound nouns in each being used correctly? How would you create the plural form of each compound noun?

Idrissa has two sister in laws and one brother in law.
High blood pressure can lead to multiple types of heart disease.
When I was four, I was determined to be an astronaut, a fire-fighter, and a sous chef.

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Nouns

Identify errors in the following as you read the passage:

pluralization
count vs. non-count nouns
common vs. proper nouns
compound nouns

Explain why each error is incorrect, and explain how to correct the error. The sentences have been numbered to help you organize your comments.

(1) Marie Curie, who conducted pioneering research on radio-activity, was the first woman to win a nobel prize, the first person to win twice, and the only person to win twice in multiple sciencees (she won in physics and chemistries). (2) She was also the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.

(3) In 1910—four years after the death of her husband—Curie succeeded in isolating radium; she also defined an international standard for radioactive emissions that was eventually named for her and Pierre: the curie. (4) Her achievementes included the development of the theory of radioactivity (a term that she coined), the creation of techniques to isolate radioactive isotopes, and the discovery of two elements: a polonium and a radium.

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reefs	reefs is the plural of reef. –s is added. It is an exception to the rule.	leaves	leaves is the plural of leaf. the f is changed to a v, and -es is added	flies	flies is the plural of fly. the y is changed to an i, and –es is added
cafes	cafes is the plural of cafe. the –s is added (note that cafe is sometimes spelled with an accent mark: café)	caves	caves is the plural of cave. the –s is added	boys	boys is the plural of boy. –s is added because the y follows a vowel
trees	trees is the plural of trees. –s is added	sopranos	sopranos is the plural of soprano. –s is added despite the word ending in an o, because the word is borrowed from Italian	watches	watches is the plural of watch. –es is added because the word ends in ch
tomatoes	tomatoes is the plural of tomato. –es is added because it’s a native English word	waltzes	waltzes is the plural of waltz. –es is added because the word ends in z	wrists	wrists is the plural of wrist. –s is added

children	children is the plural of child. This is an –en noun. To form the plural, an –ren was added.	moose	moose is the plural of moose. This is a no-change plural. The singular and plural have the same form.	teeth	teeth is the plural of tooth. This is a mid-word vowel change plural. The oo in tooth was changed to an ee.
squid	squid is the plural of squid. This is a no-change plural. The singular and plural have the same form.	men	men is the plural of man. This is a mid-word vowel change plural. The a in man was changed to an e.	lice	lice is the plural of louse. This is a mid-word vowel change plural. The ouse in louse was changed to an ice.
memoranda	memoranda is the plural of memorandum. The singular ends with –um, so the plural ends with –a.	hypotheses	hypotheses is the plural of hypothesis. The singular ends with –is, so the plural ends with –es.	phenomena	phenomena is the plural of phenomenon. The singular ends with –on, so the plural ends with –a.
parentheses	parentheses is the plural of parenthesis. The singular ends with –is, so the plural ends with –es.	emphases	emphases is the plural of emphasis. The singular ends with –is, so the plural ends with –es.	nuclei	nuclei is the plural of nucleus. The singular ends with –us, so the plural ends with –i.
foci	foci is the plural of focus. The singular ends with –us, so the plural ends with –i. focuses is also an acceptable plural	vertebrae	vertebrae is the plural of vertebra. The singular ends with –a, so the plural ends with –ae.	appendices	appendices is the plural of appendix. The singular ends with –ix, so the plural ends with –ices.

chiefs	chiefs is the plural of chief. –s is added. It is an exception to the rule.	toys	toys is the plural of toy. –s is added because the y follows a vowel	quiz	quiz is the singular of quizzes. –es is added because the word ends in z. This word needs an additional z added to the plural
bacterium	bacterium is the singular of bacteria. The singular ends with –um, so the plural ends with –a.	crisis	crisis is the singular of crises. The singular ends with –is, so the plural ends with –es.	criteria	criteria is the plural of criterion. The singular ends with –on, so the plural ends with –a.
octopus	octopus is the singular of octopuses. Plural forms of singular words that ends with –us typically end with –i, but octopuses is the preferred plural (octopi is also accepted)	larvae	larvae is the plural of larva. The singular ends with –a, so the plural ends with –ae.	indices	indices is the plural of index. The singular ends with –ex, so the plural ends with –ices.
wolves	wolves is the plural of wolf. The noun ends with an f, so it is changed to a v, and –es is added.	sheep	This is a no-change plural. The singular and plural have the same form, so sheep could be singular or plural	woman	woman is the singular of women. This is a mid-word vowel change plural. The a in woman was changed to an e.