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 |
|
Show Answer
| 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 |
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 |
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teeth |
|
| squid |
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men |
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lice |
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| memoranda |
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hypotheses |
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phenomena |
|
| parentheses |
|
emphases |
|
nuclei |
|
| foci |
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vertebrae |
|
appendices |
|
Show Answer
| 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. |
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 |
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toys |
|
quiz |
|
| bacterium |
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crisis |
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criteria |
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| octopus |
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larvae |
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indices |
|
| wolves |
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sheep |
|
woman |
|
Show Answer
| 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. |
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.
Show Answer
- There was much food at the event. There were fewer soups than salads and even (less / fewer) desserts.
- Food is non-count, so it takes much not many. Soups and desserts are both count, so they take fewer not less.
- Even though much is technically correct, you may want to use a lot instead. It has a much less antiquated feel.
- As a geologist, Liam spends a lot of time around rocks and dirt.
- Rocks is count, so it does have a plural. Since we are talking about different items, there must be more than one, so rocks is correct.
- Dirt is non-count, so it does not have a plural.
- Arturo had too much water before his workout.
- Much must be followed by a non-count noun. Of the two options (water and drinks) water is the non-count noun. If many were used instead of much, the correct sentence would be “Arturo had too many drinks before his workout.”
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.
Show Answer
- Idrissa has two sisters-in-law and one brother-in-law.
- Both compounds should be hyphenated, not compounds. Sister and brother are the main parts of each compound, so the correct pluralizations would be sisters-in-law not sister-in-laws.
- High blood pressure can lead to multiple types of heart disease.
- This sentence is correct. The compound should be open (no hyphenation). The correct plural would be blood pressures.
- When I was four, I was determined to be an astronaut, a firefighter, and a sous-chef.
- Firefighter compound should be closed (no space or hyphenation). The correct plural would be firefighters.
- Sous-chef should be hyphenated. The correct plural would be sous-chefs.
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.
Show Answer
The list below identifies all of the errors in noun treatment. Any incorrect words have been enclosed in quotation marks.
- The compound noun “radio-activity” should not have a hyphen; it is a closed compound: radioactivity. It has been treated correctly as a non-count noun, however. Nobel Prize should be capitalized because it is a proper noun. “Sciencees” has been pluralized incorrectly; the correct spelling is sciences since the word science takes regular pluralization. “Chemistries” is a non-count noun, so it does not have a plural form; the correct word is chemistry.
- There are no errors in this sentence.
- There are no errors in this sentence. You may want to capitalize the word curie in this sentence, since it is named after a person. However, this is not a literal use of the name. As a unit, the word has become a common noun instead of a proper noun.
- “Achievementes” has been pluralized incorrectly; the correct spelling is achievements since the word achievement takes regular pluralization. The non-count noun radioactivity has been treated correctly; however, the non-count nouns polonium and radium have not. They should not have articles before them; thus, “the discovery of two new elements: polonium and radium” is correct.
