English grammar · lesson 2 of 30 · free

Singular and plural — English grammar for kids

Singular means one; plural means more than one. Most nouns just add -s, but the ending of the word can change the rule — and a few nouns, like child and mouse, have plurals of their own.

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The grammar rule

Look at the ending — “the last letters of a noun tell you how to make its plural”

  1. Most nouns add -s: book → books. Nouns ending in s, ss, sh, ch, x or o (potato, tomato) add -es: box → boxes.
  2. A consonant + y changes to -ies: baby → babies. A vowel + y just adds -s: boy → boys.
  3. Most nouns ending in f or fe change to -ves: knife → knives.
  4. Learn the special ones: child → children, man → men, tooth → teeth, mouse → mice, sheep → sheep.

Use it for: Writing about more than one thing, counting in sentences (three boxes, two children), and spelling tests.

Worked example: What is the plural of “leaf”? → leaves

  1. “leaf” ends in f, so the f changes to v and we add -es.
  2. leaf → leaves.

Check: Like wolf → wolves and shelf → shelves, leaf → leaves ✓

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🖨️ Singular and Plural Worksheet

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