The plurals of most nouns are formed by adding -s (kings, pianos, photos) or -es (churches, foxes, dishes) to the singular form.
English is weird
However, English is more complicated than that. It is full of exceptions and odd rules. Therefore, there are many special and irregular plurals.
Plurals of nouns ending in a consonant + “y”. The plural is spelled by dropping the “y” and adding “-ies”, such as baby/babies, candy/candies, and lady/ladies.
Plurals of nouns ending in a consonant plus y
Plurals of nouns ending in “f” or “fe”. They are formed by changing a final “-f” (elf/elves) or “-fe” (wife/wives, knife/knives) into “-ves”.
Monkeys are omnivores.
If a compound noun is made up of a noun plus a modifier, the plural is added to the noun, e.g., father-in-law/father_s_-in-law, passer-by/passer_s_-by, etc.
Some nouns are used only in plural form: scissors (Have you got a pair of scissors?), police (The police are chasing a criminal suspect), cattle, trousers, etc.
A few nouns are plural in form, but singular in meaning, so these nouns appear to be plural, but they are singular - seriously, the English language is insane! Some examples are: “The news is at everyone’s fingertips now,” “The measles is a highly contagious disease.”
The news is at 8 o clock in the tv.
Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural, e.g., sheep (A sheep is asleep on my sofa; sheep are gentle, sensitive animals who are highly intelligent), fish, squid, deer, Chinese, aircraft, spacecraft, series, etc.
Some irregular plurals include: child/children, tooth/teeth, foot/feet, man/men, mouse/mice, person/people, woman/women, crisis/crises, ox/oxen, cactus/cacti, etc.
Don't be a sheep in a world full of wolves. There are three types of people in this world: sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs.
Uncountable nouns do not have a plural form. Some examples are: he has black hair, she has too much money, fruit is very healthy for you and your kids, cheese is nice.
However, even uncountable nouns can be pluralized: Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans/What creature has more lives than a cat?, Religion is the opiate of the masses/All religions are true, I love coffee and tea/Two teas with sugar please, etc.
Adjectives do not have a singular, plural, masculine, feminine, or neutral form. They are always the same and you should never add a final -s to an adjective. Some examples are: art teachers are under appreciated, there are many old buildings throughout Alexandria, etc.
Please, make sure that you have really understood it with our Quiz.
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